Do blood pressure and cholesterol medicines lower the chance of dementia?
The effect of antihypertensive and statin therapy on dementia incidence: a novel analytical approach in large electronic health record datasets with long follow-up times and minimal loss to follow-up
This project uses long-term health records to see if common blood pressure and cholesterol drugs reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and related dementias in adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11233297 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would not need to join a new trial; researchers will use decades of existing medical records from the US, the UK, and Denmark to compare people who just did or did not cross clinical treatment thresholds for blood pressure, LDL, or cardiovascular risk. They take advantage of guideline cutoffs that cause a sudden increase in the chance of getting a medicine, comparing patients just above versus just below those cutoffs to mimic a fair comparison. The data include detailed pharmacy records and very long follow-up (17–35 years) with little loss to follow-up. This method aims to give clearer, real-world evidence about whether antihypertensives and statins change dementia risk.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or intermediate cardiovascular risk whose treatment decisions fall near guideline cutoffs and who have long-term electronic health records are the most relevant group for these findings.
Not a fit: People who already have dementia, who do not have hypertension or high cholesterol, or who lack longitudinal records in the participating health systems would be unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could clarify whether widely used blood pressure and cholesterol medicines can lower dementia risk and help guide prevention choices.
How similar studies have performed: Randomized trials so far have shown mixed results and were limited by short follow-up and low power, so this longer, guideline-threshold based analysis is a newer approach to the same question.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Geldsetzer, Pascal — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Geldsetzer, Pascal
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.