Healthnotes Newswire (June 21, 2001)—People with high blood
pressure or high cholesterol levels in midlife are twice as
likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease in later life than are
people with normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels,
according to a study published this week in the British medical
journal BMJ.1 The 1,449 participants in the study were residents
of Eastern Finland. They were studied for an average of 21
years, and were aged 65 to 79 years of age at the time of re-
examination for Alzheimer’s disease in 1998. Those with raised
systolic blood pressure (greater than or equal to 160
millimeters of mercury on a blood pressure gauge) or high blood
levels of cholesterol (greater than or equal to 6.5 millimoles
per liter [about 250 milligrams per deciliter]) in midlife had a
significantly higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease in later life.
Participants with both risk factors in midlife had 3.5 times the
risk of Alzheimer’s disease than those with neither risk factor.
Surprisingly, diastolic blood pre