A new study led by the Center for Healthy Brain Aging (CHeBA) at the University of New South Wales Sydney has found that genetic risk for higher blood pressure may affect cognitive function even in individuals as young as their 40s and 50s.
This groundbreaking research challenges previous assumptions that cognitive impairments related to high blood pressure only manifest later in life.
Key Findings
The research, published in the journal “Hypertension,” analyzed data from the UK Biobank, encompassing 448,575 participants.
The study opted for a genetic quantification approach to measure the risk of high blood pressure instead of traditional methods, which often yield inaccurate results.
Lead author Dr. Matt Lennon commented on the results, “We have found that there are subtle but real changes several decades earlier.”
Lennon also noted that the relationship between blood pressure and cognitive function is complex. “Those with a genetic predisposition to higher blood pressure had significantly better reaction time, particularly in males,” he said.
Advantages and Costs
While the study highlighted some genetic advantages related to high blood pressure, such as better reaction time, these come at the long-term costs of poorer cognitive health and increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The research found that those in their 60s with marginally higher blood pressure may have optimal cognitive abilities compared to individuals in their 40s and 50s.
This suggests that future prevention strategies for cognitive decline may need to be personalized based on genetic risk, age, and sex.
Global Relevance and Future Outlook
Co-author Professor Perminder Sachdev, Co-Director of CHeBA, emphasized the global impact of hypertension, a condition affecting over 1 billion people worldwide.
“It is the single, most prevalent risk factor for cognitive decline,” said Sachdev.
“It is critical we understand the complexities of this modifiable risk factor for dementia, particularly in people in their 40s and 50s, to develop strategies for earlier intervention and prevention of cognitive decline and dementia.”
The study indicates that as our understanding of the genetic factors related to blood pressure improves, targeted interventions could become more effective, helping to mitigate cognitive decline and potentially reduce the burden of dementia in the global population.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that drinking tea could help lower blood pressure, and early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that Beetroot juice could help lower high blood pressure, and results showing this common plant nutrient could help reduce high blood pressure.
The research findings can be found in Hypertension.
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