A new study by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health has revealed that women with hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, may be at risk of developing dementia as they age. Researchers looked at the amount of white matter lesions on the brain as guide to risk for developing dementia.
The study involved over 1,400 women over a long-term period. These women were all 65 or older and part of the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS).
The women in the study were broken into two basic groups. The first group consisted of 883 women (436 active and 447 placebos) and made up the conjugated equine estrogen plus medroxyprogesterone acetate study. The second group had 520 women in it (25 active and 263 placebos) that made up the conjugated equine estrogen study.
The blood pressure of each participant was monitored each year and they underwent a MRI of the brain. The researchers used the MRIs to assess the number of lesions on the white matter of the brain. The brain is made up of 60% white matter which allows the different parts of the brain to communicate. It is known that white matter lesions are related to the risk of developing dementia.
The researches analyzed the women’s MRIs after eight years to see the amount of white lesions they each had. They found that the women that were considered to have high blood pressure of 140 mm Hg/90 mm Hg had more white matter lesions. This means they are at greater risk of developing dementia.
The lesions were found to be more in the frontal lobe of the brain compared to the occipital, parietal or temporal lobes. The frontal lobe is considered to be the emotional control center of the brain and controls the person’s personality.
“Women should be encouraged to control high BP when they are young or in middle-age in order to prevent serious problems later on,” stated Dr. Lewis Kuller, MD, DrPH, professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. “Prevention and control of elevated blood pressure and subsequent vascular disease in the brain may represent the best current preventive therapy for dementia.”
This study shows that women of all ages need to be concerned about their blood pressure. If they do have high blood pressure, they need to follow their physician’s advice and use the prescribed medication to keep it under control. Another study recently release also showed how certain hypertension medications helped reduced the risk of the development of dementia.
Written by Denise Clay
For Huliq
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