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Review
. 2016 Aug;18(8):67.
doi: 10.1007/s11906-016-0674-1.

Relationship Between Antihypertensive Medications and Cognitive Impairment: Part I. Review of Human Studies and Clinical Trials

Sevil Yasar  1 , Mattan Schuchman  1 , Jean Peters  2 , Kaarin J Anstey  3 , Michelle C Carlson  4 , Ruth Peters  5
Affiliations
Review

Relationship Between Antihypertensive Medications and Cognitive Impairment: Part I. Review of Human Studies and Clinical Trials

Sevil Yasar et al. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2016 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose of review: There is an established association between hypertension and increased risk of poor cognitive performance and dementia including Alzheimer's disease; however, associations between antihypertensive medications (AHMs) and dementia risk are less consistent. An increased interest in AHM has resulted in expanding publications; however, none of the recent reviews are comprehensive. Our extensive review includes 15 observational and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published over the last 5 years, assessing the relationship between AHM and cognitive impairment.

Recent findings: All classes of AHM showed similar result patterns in human studies with the majority of study results reporting point estimates below one and only a small number of studies (N = 15) reporting statistically significant results in favor of a specific class. Only a small number of studies reported statistically significant results in favor of a specific class of AHM. Methodological limitations of the studies prevent definitive conclusions. Further work is now needed to evaluate the class of AHM and cognitive outcomes in future RCTs, with a particular focus on the drugs with the promising results in both animals and human observational studies.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Antihypertensive medication; Cognitive decline; Dementia.

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