High blood pressure is a known cardiovascular risk factor for cognitive function. In the current study, researchers investigated the link between visit-to-visit blood pressure variability and cognition in older adults.
To do so, they analyzed data from 4, 770 individuals with an average age of 71 years old from the Chicago Health and Aging Project, a bi-racial population-based study that ran from 1993 to 2012. Two-thirds of the participants were Black, and the rest were White.
Data included systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings taken every three years for an average of 10 years, alongside measures of cognition taken at the start and end of the study.
The participants had an average blood pressure reading of 138/78 mmHg. High blood pressure was defined as readings of 130/80 mmHg or above.
Systolic blood pressure readings varied more among Black participants than White counterparts- at 17.7 mmHg and 16 mmHg, respectively. Black participants with the highest blood pressure variability scored lower on cognitive tests than those with the least variability. Differences in test scores equated to 2.8 years of cognitive aging. The relationship was only found among Black individuals.
The researchers noted, however, that individuals taking blood pressure medication at the beginning of the study- regardless of blood pressure variation- experienced no difference in cognitive test scores between the start and end of the study.
The researchers wrote that routine blood pressure assessments could help identify and mitigate adverse effects of blood pressure variation in cognitive functioning among older adults.
"With our aging society and the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease, identifying prevention strategies to slow the decline of cognitive skills in older adults has become a public health priority. Managing blood pressure and its fluctuations is emerging as an essential risk factor that can be modified,” said study author Anisa Dhana, MD, MSc, of Rush University in Chicago in a press release.
Sources: Science Daily, Neurology