A new large study from China has found that lowering high blood pressure can help reduce the risk of dementia and memory problems.
The study followed almost 34,000 people and showed that managing blood pressure carefully could be a powerful way to protect brain health, especially as people get older.
The results were published in the journal Nature Medicine and offer hope that simple, low-cost actions could make a big difference in slowing the rising number of dementia cases worldwide.
Dementia is a brain condition that affects memory, thinking, and daily functioning. It becomes more common with age, and experts say that the number of people with dementia around the world could triple by 2050. In 2019, about 57 million people were living with dementia.
By 2050, that number may reach more than 150 million, with the biggest increases expected in low- and middle-income countries. Because there is no cure, finding ways to prevent or delay dementia has become a top health goal.
Previous research has suggested that having high blood pressure, especially if left untreated, raises the risk of getting dementia. One study even showed that people with untreated high blood pressure were 42% more likely to develop dementia than those with normal blood pressure.
Lifestyle habits like healthy eating and exercise have already been shown to lower this risk. But until now, very few large clinical trials had tested whether blood pressure medication itself could directly lower the chances of developing dementia.
To explore this question, researchers led by Dr. Jiang He organized a major clinical trial in rural China. The study involved nearly 34,000 adults aged 40 or older who had high blood pressure but were not receiving treatment. The goal was to see whether a community-led program to reduce blood pressure could also help protect brain function.
People in the study were split into two groups. In the intervention group, more than 17,000 participants received blood pressure medicine and regular health support. This support came from trained community health workers, often known as “village doctors.”
These workers helped patients check their blood pressure at home and taught them about healthy habits like reducing salt in their diet, drinking less alcohol, losing weight, and taking their medicine regularly.
The other group, called the control group, also received blood pressure checks and general training on managing their health, but they did not get the same level of personal coaching or support.
After four years, the people who received the full intervention had better blood pressure control than those in the control group. More importantly, they were also less likely to develop dementia or cognitive problems.
Their risk of dementia dropped by 15%, and the risk of general memory or thinking issues fell by 16%. These differences may not seem large, but at the population level, they could mean millions fewer cases of dementia over time.
This study stands out because it is one of the first to directly test whether lowering blood pressure with medication can prevent dementia, and it was done in a real-world setting using affordable tools and non-specialist health workers. It shows that even in rural or low-income areas, simple programs can lead to big health benefits.
The researchers believe their findings support the idea that governments and health organizations should take stronger action to find and treat high blood pressure. Making these programs widely available could be a key part of the global strategy to prevent dementia and improve long-term brain health.
In conclusion, the study provides strong evidence that lowering high blood pressure through medication and healthy habits may also protect the brain. This low-cost strategy could have a huge impact in reducing dementia around the world, especially in countries where health care resources are limited. It reminds us that looking after your heart can also mean looking after your brain.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about low choline intake linked to higher dementia risk, and how eating nuts can affect your cognitive ability.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that blueberry supplements may prevent cognitive decline, and results showing higher magnesium intake could help benefit brain health.
The research findings can be found in Nature Medicine.
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