[Disentangling the differential contribution of hypertension and aging on dementia risk].
Dementia is among the most frequent causes of disability in the elderly. Up today, there are no effective therapies that allow to modify the disease course. Great efforts have been made in studying biological correlates of dementia. A growing body of evidence is reporting that classical cardiovascular risk factors are potent predictors of several forms of dementia. Although hypertension has been the most studied in relation to cognitive function, it is yet difficult to pool results and draw strong inferences, due to relevant methodological differences across studies. The association between blood pressure and dementia seems to be complex and far from being unidirectional. Both high and low blood pressure levels have been reported to be associated with impairment in cognitive function in older subjects. Age-related changes in both blood pressure levels and cognitive function, as well as vascular brain damage and systemic arterial aging, may exert a confounding role. Future longitudinal studies are deemed necessary in order to obtain consistent results. In general, the hypothesis of dementia prevention by risk factor control at a population level needs to be established.
Giovanni
G
Viscogliosi
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003704:Dementia / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications*; D012307:Risk Factors