Impact of Blood Pressure on Cognitive Functions of Middle-Aged Male and Female Individuals Mahalingam K. Amritha1, Aithala Manjunatha2, Mullur Lata3,* 1Post-graduate Student, Department of Phyiology, BLDE (Deemed to be University) Shri B. M. Patil Medical College, Vijayapura, Karnataka, India 2Professor, Department of Phyiology, BLDE (Deemed to be University) Shri B. M. Patil Medical College, Vijayapura, Karnataka, India 3Associate Professor, Department of Phyiology, BLDE (Deemed to be University) Shri B. M. Patil Medical College, Vijayapura, Karnataka, India *Corresponding Author: Dr. Lata Mullur, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Shri B.M. Patil Medical College, BLDE (Deemed to be university), Vijayapura (Karnataka), India, Phone: +919449752899, Email: drlatamullur@gmail.com
Online published on 23 December, 2019. Abstract Background The relationship between Blood pressure(BP) and cognitive function(CF) has not yet been established with evidential matter. However, many studies are there which proved the negative impact of increasing Blood pressure (BP) on cognitive function (CF), with studies, “for” and “against” the observation, both in equal proportion. However, less studies have probed the gender influence as a factor which can affect the interaction of BP with CF. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the association of BP and gender with CF. Method The cross-sectional study is conducted on 90 middle-aged male and female subjects aged 40–60 years. Anthropometric and physiological parameters were measured using standard techniques and CF assessed with the help of MMSE. The correlation between BP and CF has been done and the results compared between males and females. Results There was statistically significant positive correlation detected between Systolic BP(SBP), Diastolic BP (DBP), Mean arterial BP (MAP) and the MMSE scores only in males with no such correlation found in female subjects. Conclusions In this study of middle-aged subjects, it was found that with increase in BP(SBP, DBP&MAP) level within the prehypertensive range, there can be improvement in the CF, only in males. This effect may be is because of a probable gender influence on the interaction between BP level and CF in middle-aged men, who have adequate androgens stores in the body, which has a neuroprotective effect in the men, which is lacking in the perimenopausal woman. Top Keywords Blood pressure, cognitive function, mini-mental status examination, mean arterial pressure, gender. Top |