Cognitive function and blood pressure control in elderly hypertensive individuals

Abstract

This article aims to estimate the prevalence of cognitive impairment and analyze its association with blood pressure control in elderly hypertensive individuals. Cross-sectional study of 383 elderly hypertensive individuals in the state of Piauí, Brazil. The authors collected sociodemo-graphic and clinical data, performed blood pressure measurement, and assessed cognitive function using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. Poisson regression with robust vari-ance was used. Overall prevalence of cognitive impairment was 74.4%, higher in the age group 80 years and over and among older persons with less schooling. Prevalence of uncontrolled blood pressure was 61.6%, with a higher proportion in the elderly with cognitive impairment. An association was observed between cognitive impairment and uncontrolled blood pressure (aPR: 3.98; 95%CI = 2.51-6.33). The significant association between cognitive function and blood pressure control sug-gest that cognitive impairment is an important risk factor for uncontrolled blood pressure in older persons. The inclusion of screening measures for possible cognitive deficits may be useful for better monitoring blood pressure levels among elderly hypertensive individuals.