SYDNEY: Lowering blood pressure in older adults can reduce their risk of dementia, a new study has found.
Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia conducted a global study on 28,008 people with an average age of 69 from 20 countries.
Dr Ruth Peter, associate professor at the university, said that although there have been no significant breakthroughs in the treatment of dementia, the reduction in the risk of developing the disease is a welcome development.
Dr. Roth said the study provides evidence that long-term blood pressure-lowering treatment reduces the risk of developing dementia. But what is still not known is whether lowering blood pressure in those whose blood pressure is under control or who start treatment early in life will reduce the long-term risk of dementia. .
According to Ruth Peters, there have been several clinical trials regarding the benefits of lowering blood pressure. But the majority of these trials did not include outcomes related to dementia, and a few used a placebo.
Most trials were stopped early because of the effects on the heart caused by low blood pressure, which usually appear before signs of dementia, he said.
New research examines the relationship between blood pressure and dementia. Five double-blind, placebo-controlled, trials were conducted for this analysis in which blood pressure was lowered using different methods. Patients were monitored until they developed dementia.
A double-blind trial is an experiment in which the researcher and the subject are not given any information so that their behavior is not influenced.