Lowering blood pressure later in life can reduce dementia risk, new study suggests

Lowering blood pressure in later life can reduce the risk of dementia, according to strong evidence gathered by scientists.

UNSW professor Dr Ruth Peters completed a global study with The George Institute's Global Brain Health Initiative and found using treatments to lower blood pressure is "one of the best bets" to tackling dementia.

Dr Peters said in the absence of significant dementia treatment breakthroughs, reducing the risk of developing the disease would be a welcome step forward.

READ MORE: Mum develops rare second cancer from anti-breast cancer drug

"Given population ageing and the substantial costs of caring for people with dementia, even a small reduction could have considerable global impact," Peters said.

Just over 28,000 individuals were included in the study. They had an average age of 69 and a history of high blood pressure, and came from 20 countries.

"We found there was a significant effect of treatment in lowering the odds of dementia associated with a sustained reduction in blood pressure in this older population," Peters said.

READ MORE: Who is new British PM Rishi Sunak's wealthy wife?

"Our results imply a broadly linear relationship between blood pressure reduction and lower risk of dementia, regardless of which type of treatment was used."

Dementia currently affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide and it is expected to triple by 2050, mostly driven by aging populations.

Researchers hope the results will help in designing public health measures to slow the advance of dementia as well as informing treatment, where there may be hesitations around how far to lower blood pressure in older age.