Causal Effects Between Blood Pressure Variability and Alzheimer's Disease: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization
Pingping Jia1,2,3, Ziyu Hao1,4, Karen Yiu3
1JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
Journal of Clinical Hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.)
|May 10, 2025
Summary
Blood pressure variability (BPV) may causally influence Alzheimer's disease (AD). Systolic blood pressure variability (SBPV) showed a significant causal link to AD, suggesting BPV management could aid dementia prevention.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Cardiovascular Health
Background:
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis involves genetic and vascular factors.
- Blood pressure variability (BPV) is linked to neurodegenerative diseases, but its causal role in AD is uncertain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal relationship between BPV and AD using Mendelian randomization (MR).
- To assess genetic associations between BPV and AD using genome-wide association study (GWAS) data.
Main Methods:
- Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis applied to GWAS summary data.
- Selection of genetic instruments for systolic BPV (SBPV) and diastolic BPV (DBPV).
- Utilized inverse variance weighting (IVW), MR-Egger, and Weighted Median methods for causal inference.
Main Results:
- Significant causal effects of SBPV on AD were observed in the Paternal family history of AD (PFH-UKBB) dataset.
- Odds ratios indicated a potential increase in AD risk per 10-unit SBPV increment.
- DBPV showed significant results only with IVW in the Maternal family history of AD (MFH-UKBB) dataset, requiring further investigation.
Conclusions:
- Systolic blood pressure variability (SBPV) is a potential causal risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- Further research is needed to clarify the role of diastolic blood pressure variability (DBPV) in AD.
- BPV control may represent a crucial therapeutic target for dementia prevention strategies.
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