Associations of Orthostatic Hypotension and Frailty With Dementia and Mortality in Older Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Abstract

Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the associations of orthostatic hypotension (OH), in the presence or absence of frailty, with dementia and mortality in older adults. Methods We conducted a 15-year population-based cohort study including 2 703 baseline dementia-free individuals from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen. At baseline, OH was defined as a decline in systolic/diastolic blood pressure ≥20/10 mm Hg 1 minute after standing up from a supine position. Frailty status was defined following Fried’s frailty phenotype. Dementia was diagnosed following the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition criteria. Multistate flexible parametric survival models were used to estimate associations of OH and frailty with dementia and mortality. Results Robust people with OH (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 2.28; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.47–3.54) and frail people without OH (HR = 1.98; 95% CI = 1.40–2.82) or with OH (HR = 2.73; 95% CI = 1.82–4.10) had a higher dementia risk than OH-free and robust people. Moreover, frail people, independently of the presence of OH, had higher mortality rate than OH-free and robust people. In individuals who developed dementia during the follow-up period, neither OH nor frailty was significantly associated with mortality. Conclusions Older adults with OH, whether robust or frail, may have a higher dementia risk than those without OH. Older adults with OH, when having frailty, may have a higher mortality rate than those without OH. The concurrent assessments of OH and frailty may provide prognostic values in terms of dementia and mortality risk in older adults.