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Age of onset of hypertension and risk of dementia in the oldest‐old: The 90+ Study
Author(s) -
Corrada María M.,
Hayden Kathleen M.,
Paganini-Hill Annlia,
Bullain Szofia S.,
DeMoss Jaime,
Aguirre Colette,
Brookmeyer Ron,
Kawas Claudia H.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.09.007
Subject(s) - dementia , hazard ratio , medicine , cohort , cohort study , longitudinal study , gerontology , proportional hazards model , pediatrics , demography , disease , confidence interval , pathology , sociology
We investigated the association between age of onset of hypertension and dementia risk in an oldest‐old cohort. Methods Participants are from The 90+ Study , a population‐based longitudinal study of people aged 90+ who are survivors from the Leisure World Cohort Study. We estimated hypertension onset age using self‐reported information from The 90+ Study and Leisure World Cohort Study, collected about 20 years earlier. A total of 559 participants without dementia were followed every 6 months for up to 10 years. Results A total of 224 participants developed dementia during follow‐up (mean = 2.8 years). Compared with those without hypertension, participants whose hypertension onset age was 80 to 89 years had a lower dementia risk (hazard ratio = 0.58, P = .04) and participants with an onset age of 90+ years had the lowest risk (hazard ratio = 0.37, P = .004). Discussion Developing hypertension at older ages may protect against dementia. Understanding the mechanisms for this lower risk is important for determining ways to prevent dementia in the very elderly.