A comparison of cognitive ability in normotensive and hypertensive 68-year-old men: results from population study "men born in 1914," in Malmö, Sweden.

Hypertension and its consequences on cognition was analyzed using data from the study "Men born in 1914" in Malmö, Sweden, a prospective cohort study of cardiovascular disease. The baseline examinations took place in 1982/83 where 500 men participated in extensive medical and social examinations. A neuropsychological investigation was completed including five standardized cognitive tests. The specific purpose of the study was to investigate whether hypertension was associated with cognitive performance. By the use of multiple regression analyses, normal blood pressure and three stages of hypertension were analyzed in relation to test performance. Hypertension Stage 3 was associated with lower performance on tests measuring psychomotor speed and visuospatial memory, whereas hypertension Stage 1 was associated with higher performance on tests measuring verbal ability and constructional ability. The associations were unconfounded by clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis, history of stroke, depressive mood, and antihypertensive drug treatment.