Long-term “study of studies” in Latino and non-Latino older adults shows clear hypertension link, but mystery still remains about why dementia risk is higher in those of Hispanic origin

People with high blood pressure levels face a faster erosion of their ability to think, make decisions and remember information than those with normal blood pressure levels, a new study finds. 

The researchers traced high blood pressure’s association with declining brain function over years, in data from six large studies that they pooled and analyzed. They show that blood pressure-related cognitive decline happens at the same pace in people of Hispanic heritage as in non-Hispanic white people.

Hispanic people face a 50% higher overall risk of dementia

The team had set out to see if differences in long-term blood pressure control explained why Hispanic people face a 50% higher overall risk of dementia by the end of their life than non-Hispanic white people in the United States. 

But the new fi ...