Higher Blood Pressure Linked to Reduced Cerebral Blood Flow in Bipolar Youth

In 144 youth (76 with bipolar disorder, 68 controls), higher diastolic blood pressure was associated with lower cerebral blood flow on arterial spin labeling MRI across multiple brain regions, an effect more pronounced in the bipolar group.

• ASL MRI measured CBF in regions of interest including the anterior cingulate, prefrontal, and insular cortices, controlling for age and sex.
• In the BD group specifically, both higher systolic and diastolic BP were associated with lower CBF in all ROIs; no significant associations were found within the HC group.
• Voxel-wise analyses revealed a significant diagnosis-by-BP interaction: higher DBP was more strongly associated with reduced CBF in BD vs. HC in the frontal pole and orbital frontal cortex.

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