The association between blood pressure (BP) and dementia is not easily interpreted, but some prospective studies suggest that dementia may lower BP. Objective: To examine the relationship between BP during a 10-year period and the prevalence of dementia. Design: Comparison of longitudinal BP between participants who had dementia, participants who were cognitively impaired, and unimpaired participants selected from an ongoing cohort study. Setting: A prepaid health plan in southern California.

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... rticipants: Three hundred participants had dementia, 285 were cognitively impaired, and 585 were unimpaired. Main Outcome Measures: Retrospective medical record review of up to 3 randomly selected BP measure-ments per year for the 10 years before cognitive classification of each participant.