It’s worrying. Why? Because more than 1 billion people suffer from hypertension in the world. And high blood pressure could lead to loss of brain volume. Researchers found the link between dementia and hypertension.
More pressure, less brain
Researchers from Australia and China analyzed MRI scans of 11,399 people. They were diagnosed with hypertension at different ages. They then compared them with those of people who did not have hypertension. They came to a clear conclusion. The relationship between dementia and hypertension is clear.
Participants diagnosed with hypertension showed a loss of brain volume. But something surprised the scientists. Hypertension diagnosed before age 35 meant more brain shrinkage.
“It happens to those with hypertension at younger ages. They had smaller brain volumes.” So says the lead author of the study, Xianwen Shang. This, in effect, has an impact on the later development of mental illness. For this, they now set about assessing the risks of dementia associated with this condition.
Other risks
How to assess the risk of dementia? They compared people diagnosed with hypertension with healthy people. They found a pattern in people with high blood pressure between the ages of 35 and 44. The risk was 61% higher than the others.
Shang says large-scale blood pressure monitoring is vital. It could help prevent dementia in many people. Now his team plans to conduct further studies. They are looking to find out whether dementia is also associated with other risk factors. For example, diabetes or strokes. It should be noted that most of the volunteers belonged to the white race. The results of the study are not necessarily extrapolable to people of other ethnic groups or races.
