Abstract

Background: There is no any large randomized clinical trial of antihypertensive drug treatment with 18-year passive follow-up to examine the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) or Related Dementias (ADRD).

Methods: Post-trial passive follow-up study of Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) participants in 1994-1998 by linking with their Medicare claims data through 2017 among 17,158 subjects in 567 U.S. centers who were free of ADRD at baseline on January 1, 1999. Main outcome was the occurrence of ADRD over 18 years of follow-up.

Results: The 18-year cumulative incidence rates were 30.9% for AD, 59.2% for non-AD dementias, and 60.9% for any ADRD. The 18-year cumulative incidence of AD was almost identical for the 3 drug groups (30.5% for chlorthalidone, 31.1% for amlodipine, and 31.4% for lisinopril). The hazard ratios of AD, non-AD dementias and total ADRD were not statistically significantly different among the 3 drug groups. The adjusted hazard ratio of AD was 1.04 (95% CI: 0.94-1.14) for chlorthalidone versus amlodipine, 1.02 (0.92-1.13) for lisinopril versus amlodipine, and 0.98 (0.89-1.08) for lisinopril versuschlorthalidone, which were not significantly different. The risk of AD and non-AD dementias was significantly higher in older subjects, females, blacks, non-Hispanics, subjects with lower education, and subjects with vascular diseases.

Conclusion: The risk of ADRD did not vary significantly by 3 antihypertensive drugs in ALLHAT trial participants with 18-years of follow-up. The risk of ADRD was significantly associated with age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, and history of vascular diseases.