High blood pressure in 30s may harm brain later in life, study finds

BOSTON – High blood pressure in early adulthood may harm your brain over time, new research finds.

A new study from UC Davis finds that having high blood pressure in your 30s is associated with worse brain health around age 75, especially in men.

Comparing brain MRIs of older adults who either had high blood pressure between the ages of 30 and 40 or did not, researchers found lower brain volumes and worse white matter integrity, both associated with dementia, in the high blood pressure group.

Some changes were even more apparent in men than women.

Early treatment for high blood pressure could help reduce the negative impact on the brain decades later.

Boston

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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