Treating high blood pressure could be an important way to reduce the risk of developing dementia, researchers say.

Looking at data from six observational studies, researchers found that patients with hypertension taking any blood pressure-lowering medication were 12% less likely to develop dementia and 16% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared with those not being treated.

The international team, including researchers from Melbourne’s Florey Institute and Swinburne University, conducted a meta-analysis of individual patient data from the community-based studies published between 1980 and 2019.

Data on more than 31,000 dementia-free people over 55 were examined to see if the five major antihypertensive classes — ACEIs, ARBs, beta blockers, calcium-channel blockers and diuretics — reduced the risk of dementia among those with high or normal baseline blood pressure.