High blood pressure during middle age might affect memory and thinking in old age, a new study shows.
For the study, researchers examined the blood pressure of 4,057 older dementia-free participants, in their middle-age, (average age of 50) and again at average age 76. The participants also underwent MRIs that examined damage to the small blood vessels in the brain. Following this , they took tests to measure their memory and thinking ability.
The findings showed that blood pressure in old age and brain measures depended on the history of blood pressure in middle age. Higher systolic (the top number on the measure of blood pressure) and diastolic (the bottom number on the measure of blood pressure) blood pressures were responsible for an increased risk of brain lesions and tiny brain bleeds.
The association was strongest among people who did not have a history of high blood pressure in middle age. People with no history of high blood pressure in middle age but high pressure in old age were 50 percent more likely to have severe brain lesions. However, in people with high blood pressure in middle age, lower diastolic blood pressure in older age was associated with smaller total brain and gray matter volumes.
In people with high blood pressure in middle age, lower diastolic blood pressure was associated with 10 percent lower memory scores.
"Our findings bring new insight into the relationship between a history of high blood pressure, blood pressure in old age, the effects of blood pressure on brain structure, and memory and thinking," study author Lenore J. Launer, PhD, of the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md., said in a press release.
"Older people without a history of high blood pressure but who currently have high blood pressure are at an increased risk for brain lesions, suggesting that lowering of blood pressure in these participants might be beneficial. On the other hand, older people with a history of high blood pressure but who currently have lower blood pressure might have more extensive organ damage and are at risk of brain shrinkage and memory and thinking problems," said Launer.
