Mortality and blood pressure in elderly people with and without cognitive impairment

BACKGROUND: Controversial data are available on the association between mortality, blood pressure and cognitive impairment in the elderly. Objective: To verify the role of blood pressure on mortality in an elderly population with and without cognitive impairment. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey with a 6-year mortality evaluation was conducted in a region of southern Italy in elderly subjects with and without cognitive impairment. Subjects were divided into 4 groups on the basis of systolic, diastolic, mean and pulse blood pressure values. RESULTS: Mortality shows a linear relationship with pulse blood pressure and a U-curve shape for diastolic blood pressure. This phenomenon was more evident in subjects with cognitive impairment showing the greatest risk of mortality at the lowest and highest levels of diastolic blood pressure. CONCLUSION: The study shows that mortality increases linearly with increasing blood pressure in the elderly. In contrast, mortality shows a U-shape curve for diastolic blood pressure; cognitively impaired patients with the lowest and highest diastolic blood pressures show the greatest relative risk of mortality.