Affiliations: Stockholm Gerontology Research Center and Aging Research Center, Division of Geriatric Epidemiology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Occupational Therapy, and Elderly Care Research (NEUROTEC), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Professor Laura Fratiglioni, Stockholm Gerontology Research Center, Box 6401 (Olivecronas väg 4), S-113 82 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel.: +46 8 690 5818; Fax: +46 8 690 5954; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: A community cohort of 1270 non-demented 75+ years old persons was followed to evaluate the influence of blood pressure on incidence of dementia. Two hundred and eighteen dementia cases were detected during an average of three years of follow-up. Subjects with baseline systolic pressure ≥ 180 mm Hg had an age- and gender-adjusted relative risk (RR) of 1.6 (95% to persons with systolic pressure of 141-160 mm Hg. This association persisted, although not statistically significant, when education, vascular diseases, and antihypertensive drug use were entered in the model (RR = 1.4; 95% systolic pressure were not related to dementia incidence. However, individuals with a decrease of 5–19 mm Hg and ≥ 20 mm Hg in systolic pressure from baseline to follow-up had a RR of 1.8 (95% 2.6) and 2.5 (95% also found in subjects with diastolic pressure reduction. In conclusion, our findings support an association between high systolic pressure and increased risk of dementia, whereas blood pressure reduction may be secondary to the dementia process itself.
