title: Childhood mental ability and blood pressure at midlife: linking the Scottish Mental Survey 1932 and the Midspan studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish the relationship between childhood mental ability and adult hypertension.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community.
  
  
  METHODS
  Non-clinical sample of people born in 1921 who participated in both the Scottish Mental Survey 1932 and the Midspan studies. Nine hundred and thirty-eight people were participants in both studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mid-life systolic and diastolic blood pressure, intelligence quotient (IQ) at age 11 years, sex, social class, height and weight.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjustment for age, sex, social class, body mass index, height, cholesterol level and smoking, there remained a 3.15 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure and a 1.5 mmHg decrease in diastolic blood pressure for each standard deviation increase in childhood IQ.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The association between hypertension and lower cognitive function in adulthood is partly accounted for by individual differences in childhood IQ.
authors.affiliation: Royal Victoria Hospital, Craigleith Road, Edinburgh EH4 2DN, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Starr
authors.forename: Michelle D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Carole L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Davey Smith
authors.forename: Lawrence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Whalley
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hole
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Ian J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Deary
mesh_terms: D001794:Blood Pressure; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology