People with mild cognitive impairment have a high risk of converting to dementia. Previous studies have suggested that hypertension is implicated in the development of mild cognitive impairment, but such effect in people much older than 70 years may be quite different. The aim of the study was to reveal the relationship between hypertension and mild cognitive impairment risk in this age group.
A total of 985 subjects were retrospectively enrolled from Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, and all of them were cognitively normal 7 years earlier. During these years, 134 subjects were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment according to the Mini-Mental State Examination. Research data of all the subjects were collected from medical records.
Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that compared with the subjects without hypertension, the subjects with grade 1 hypertension or duration <10 years showed a decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment (hazards ratio (HR): 0.54, 95%CI: 0.32-0.87; HR: 0.65, 95%CI: 0.40-0.99), and the subjects with grade 2-3 hypertension or duration ≥10 years had an increased risk of the disease (HR: 1.75, 95%CI: 1.25-2.42; HR: 1.52, 95%CI: 1.08-2.15). In addition, compared with the patients without hypertension, the patients taking angiotensin II receptor antagonists / angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors had an increased risk of the disease (HR: 1.91, 95%CI: 1.29-2.83).
In subjects over 70 years old, short-term and mild hypertension might be a protective factor for mild cognitive impairment and prevent them from such a disease.

© 2020 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

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