| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
a Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Rush University and Rush-Presbyterian–St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
b Health Care and Aging Studies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
c Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Martha Clare Morris, Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, 1645 West Jackson, Suite 675, Chicago, IL 60612 E-mail: mmorris{at}rush.edu.
William B. Ershler, MD
Background. The relation of blood pressure to Alzheimer's disease (AD) is complex because both an association of high blood pressure with increased risk of the disease and lower blood pressure as a consequence of the disease are possible.
Methods. We examined the cross-sectional association of blood pressure and AD in the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP), a study of a geographically defined, biracial community. After in-home interviews with 6,162 residents 
65 years, a stratified random sample of 729 participants was clinically evaluated; 709 had blood pressures measured, and 243 were diagnosed with AD.
Results. In logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, education, and race there was no association between blood pressure measured as a continuous variable and Alzheimer's disease. In categorical analyses, however, prevalence of Alzheimer's disease was significantly higher among persons with low systolic pressure (<130 mmHg) compared with the referent group of 130–139 mmHg (odds ratio [OR] = 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2,4.1), and with low diastolic pressure (<70 mmHg) compared to the referent of 70–79 mmHg (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1,3.1). High systolic and diastolic categories were not statistically different from the referent group, although there was some evidence that the associations differed by race. The odds ratios changed little with further adjustment for apolipoprotein E genotype, antihypertensive medications, body mass, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease.
Conclusion. These findings are consistent with previous studies showing associations between low blood pressure and AD, but longitudinal studies are needed to characterize cause-and-effect associations.
This article has been cited by other articles: (Search Google Scholar for Other Citing Articles)
|
|
 |
|
  T. den Heijer, L. J. Launer, N. D. Prins, E. J. van Dijk, S. E. Vermeer, A. Hofman, P. J. Koudstaal, and M. M.B. Breteler Association between blood pressure, white matter lesions, and atrophy of the medial temporal lobe Neurology, January 25, 2005; 64(2): 263 - 267. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Qiu, E. von Strauss, B. Winblad, and L. Fratiglioni Decline in Blood Pressure Over Time and Risk of Dementia: A Longitudinal Study From the Kungsholmen Project Stroke, August 1, 2004; 35(8): 1810 - 1815. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Pandav, H. H. Dodge, S. T. DeKosky, and M. Ganguli Blood Pressure and Cognitive Impairment in India and the United States: A Cross-National Epidemiological Study Arch Neurol, August 1, 2003; 60(8): 1123 - 1128. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R.S. Wilson, D.A. Bennett, J.L. Bienias, N.T. Aggarwal, C.F. Mendes de Leon, M.C. Morris, J.A. Schneider, and D.A. Evans Cognitive activity and incident AD in a population-based sample of older persons Neurology, December 24, 2002; 59(12): 1910 - 1914. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|
| All GSA journals | The Gerontologist |
| Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences | |
