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ABSTRACT: Objective
We hypothesized that in participants with a history of hypertension, lower late-life blood pressure (BP) will be associated with more brain pathology.Methods
Participants are 4,057 older men and women without dementia with midlife (mean age 50 ± 6 years) and late-life (mean age 76 ± 5 years) vascular screening, cognitive function, and brain structures on MRI ascertained as part of the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility (AGES)-Reykjavik Study.Results
The association of late-life BP to brain measures depended on midlife hypertension history. Higher late-life systolic and diastolic BP (DBP) was associated with an increased risk of white matter lesions and cerebral microbleeds, and this was most pronounced in participants without a history of midlife hypertension. In contrast, in participants with a history of midlife hypertension, lower late-life DBP was associated with smaller total brain and gray matter volumes. This finding was reflected back in cognitive performance; in participants with midlife hypertension, lower DBP was associated with lower memory scores.Conclusion
In this large population-based cohort, late-life BP differentially affects brain pathology and cognitive performance, depending on the history of midlife hypertension. Our study suggests history of hypertension is critical to understand how late-life BP affects brain structure and function.
SUBMITTER: Muller M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4113458 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Muller Majon M Sigurdsson Sigurdur S Kjartansson Olafur O Aspelund Thor T Lopez Oscar L OL Jonnson Palmi V PV Harris Tamara B TB van Buchem Mark M Gudnason Vilmundur V Launer Lenore J LJ
Neurology 20140604 24
<h4>Objective</h4>We hypothesized that in participants with a history of hypertension, lower late-life blood pressure (BP) will be associated with more brain pathology.<h4>Methods</h4>Participants are 4,057 older men and women without dementia with midlife (mean age 50 ± 6 years) and late-life (mean age 76 ± 5 years) vascular screening, cognitive function, and brain structures on MRI ascertained as part of the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility (AGES)-Reykjavik Study.<h4>Results</h4>The associ ...[more]