A soon to be published study investigated the relationship between antihypertensive drug use and dementia in older adults. The study derived data from the Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA) which compiled drug prescriptions, diagnoses, and basic medical and demographic data obtained anonymously from computer systems utilized by general practitioners and specialists.
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Using three logistical regression model, the association between the use of antihypertensive drugs and dementia incidence was observed after adjustments to blood pressure.
"After another setback for the anti-amyloid strategy, dementia prevention is increasingly becoming an area of interest," explains Dr. Jens Bohlken, MD, PhD, from the Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP) from the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig. "In view of this, our most important task is to find existing therapies that are associated with a reduction in dementia risk or at least an extension of the time to dementia onset."
The main conclusion of the research was that dementia is a function of the use of antihypertensive drugs (i.e. diuretics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitors, and angiotensin II receptor blockers).
"Antihypertensive therapy alone cannot guarantee that dementia will never occur," noted corresponding author Prof. Karel Kostev, PhD, from the Epidemiology Department of IQVIA (Germany), "However, these findings highlight the importance of the prescription of antihypertensive drugs in the context of preventing hypertension-associated cognitive decline."
The use of angiotensin II receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, and beta blockers were associated with a decrease in dementia incidence and for patients treated with higher doses of calcium channel blockers, decreased dementia was more evident. Authors of the study also notes that, "further studies are needed to gain a better understanding of the medications associated with a decreased risk of dementia. We plan to investigate the role of lipid-lowering drugs, antidepressants, and further medications in the future."
Source: Science Daily
