Simple tweak can cut dementia risk by 15 per cent and prevent mental decline, experts discover
Reducing high blood pressure cuts the risk of dementia by 15 per cent, a major ‘wake-up call’ study has found.
Nearly 34,000 individuals aged 40 and over were studied to see if treating hypertension had an impact on cognitive impairment over four years.
Those who took blood pressure pills, lost weight and cut down on salt and alcohol were found to have a significantly lower chance of going on to suffer mental decline.
Masud Husain, professor of neurology at the University of Oxford, called the study as a ‘landmark’ in dementia research.
‘It is a wake-up call to treat high blood pressure intensively, not just to protect the heart but also the brain,’ he said.
‘Remarkably, within just four years, there was a significant reduction in the incidence of dementia by aggressively treating raised blood pressure.
‘Although many patients and their GPs understand how important it is to treat blood pressure, they might not appreciate what a risk it poses for developing dementia.’
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. The number of people with the condition is expected to rise from 57.4 million worldwide in 2019 to 152.8 million by 2050, with the greatest impact being in low- to middle-income countries.
Experts are calling for the government to give all over-30s an NHS health check, which would test their blood pressure and potentially catch problems earlier
Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center gave medication and intensive healthcare coaching to 17,407 patients with untreated high blood pressure in rural Chinese villages.
They were guided to lose weight and reduce the amount of salt and alcohol they consumed.
A further 16,588 patients were given ‘usual care’ – namely blood pressure management advice and regular monitoring.
The risk of all-cause dementia was reduced by 15 per cent and general cognitive impairment dropped by 16 among the first group.
The study, published in Nature Medicine, suggests that reducing blood pressure could be an easy way to reduce this global burden.
Dr Julia Dudley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, called on the government to do more to tackle health and lifestyle factors that may cause dementia.
‘This could mean introducing policies to reduce salt, sugar, and calories in processed foods, and lowering the NHS Health Check eligibility age in England from 40 to 30, so more people can start managing their blood pressure earlier in life,’ she said.
‘Looking after our heart and blood vessel health is something we can all do to improve our overall wellbeing and reduce our risk of dementia. With no current treatments available on the NHS to slow or stop the diseases that cause dementia, there has never been a more pressing need to promote good brain health.’
Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘We know that what’s good for your heart is often also good for your head.
‘This is one of the first big trials to test whether treating high blood pressure, supported by health coaching, can reduce dementia risk – and the results appear to be promising.
‘It is encouraging that the intervention worked in real-world, rural settings using non-physician healthcare workers, which may have implications for delivering care in areas with limited resources in the future.
‘However, this four-year study cannot tell us whether the benefits will last in the long-term so we will continue to follow this trial.’
