Study finds link between midlife blood pressure variability and dementia
Risk is elevated for those 90 and older
November 14, 2023
IN THE NEWS: We have long known that high blood pressure or hypertension can lead to several health maladies including heart and kidney disease, but a new study indicates a possible relationship between blood pressure variability and dementia in those who live to 90 and older.
UCI Health neurologist Dr. Seyed Ahmad Sajjadi spoke to Medical News Today about the findings of the study, which was published in the journal JAMA Neurology. He was not involved with the research.
“The study shows that blood pressure variability as measured over annual visits spanning three decades was associated with risk of dementia in individuals who lived to be 90 years or older. Interestingly, the relationship between high systolic blood pressure and dementias reversed for younger vs. older old although this relationship never became statistically significant.”
Sajjadi is a neurologist with UCI Health Memory Disorder Services and UCI Health Neurology Services. He is an associate professor in neurology, pathology and laboratory medicine and the chief of the Division of Memory Disorders in the Department of Neurology at the UCI School of Medicine.
A clinician scientist who studies neurodegenerative pathologies across the aging spectrum, Sajjadi's research focus includes Alzheimer's disease, primary progressive aphasia, frontotemporal dementia and dementia in the oldest adults. He is the recipient of multiple National Institutes of Health grants and the author of numerous studies that have appeared in prominent medical journals.
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