Hypertension linked to high risk of dementia

A recent study in the journal Hypertension Research investigates whether patients with hypertension are at a higher risk of developing dementia.

Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease associated with an impaired ability to think, remember, or make decisions. Since dementia has a long pre-clinical stage, early diagnosis is crucial.

Several modifiable vascular and non-vascular risk factors have been associated with over 40% of dementia cases. Among these, hypertension could be the most potentially modifiable vascular risk factor that affects individuals over 40 years of age.

To date, several tools have been designed to project risk scores for the possibility of disease onset. For example, the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia (CAIDE) score is a well-accepted and validated tool used to predict future dementia risk based on specific middle-age parameters.

The current study included 1,279 white Argentinian hypertensive patients between 21 and 95 years of age to stratify dementia risk using the CAIDE risk score.

According to the CAIDE score, around 40% of the cohort exhibited an increased risk of developing dementia.

The current study indicated the use of this factor as a predictor of dementia risk, particularly in middle-aged populations.