A low blood pressure is associated with an increased risk of dementia in people over 75 years of age, according to a new report. This risk seems to pertain only to Alzheimer’s type dementia and is highest in subjects with persistently low pressures. The findings, which are reported in the medical journal Neurology, are based on a study of 406 community-dwelling elderly subjects who were dementia-free at study entry and were followed for up to 21 years. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, the first and second numbers, respectively, in a blood pressure measurement, were determined in all subjects.
