According to a recent meta-analysis, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is frequent among people with hypertension. In this population, early screening is required to allow for timely intervention.
 |
| Photo: Neurons | InStyleHealth |
"Hypertensive patients and physicians should
focus not only on blood pressure control, but also on evaluating cognitive
impairment and optimizing rehabilitation and treatment targets," the
researchers concluded.
Eleven studies were found in the PubMed, Embase,
Cochrane Library, and Web of Science online databases, resulting in a pooled
sample of 47,179 people, the majority of whom were over 60 years old. The
Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA),
Peterson's criteria, and the National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's
Association (NIA-AA) criteria were among the diagnostic techniques used for
MCI.
MCI was shown to be prevalent in 30 percent of the
population (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 25–35), with rates ranging
from 11.5 percent to 66.6 percent in different investigations. Patients over 60
years of age had a higher prevalence in cohort studies than in cross-sectional
studies (38 percent vs. 28 percent) (vs other age groups: 44 percent vs 28
percent). Both sub-analyses revealed a high level of heterogeneity.
When the MoCA was employed instead of the NIA-AA,
MMSE, or Peterson's criterion tools, MCI among hypertensives was also found to
be more prevalent (64 percent vs 18 percent, 19 percent, and 13 percent,
respectively). In this sub-analysis, evidentiary heterogeneity was also a major
factor.
No study had an outsized impact on the overall
results, according to sensitivity analysis.
Source: Hypertension Res 2021;44:1251-1260