Blood Pressure Rises 20-25 Years Before Development
of Type 2 Diabetes
Increases in blood pressure in young adulthood precede
the development of type 2 diabetes in middle age.
"
Hypertension is known to accompany type 2 diabetes
in middle age, but it is unknown how early in life
blood pressure (BP) begins to rise among individuals
who later develop diabetes," Dr. Sherita Hill
Golden and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, note.
The investigators used data from the Johns Hopkins
Precursors Study involving 1152 former white male
medical students to study systolic BP (SBP) and
diastolic BP (DBP) longitudinally from young adulthood
through
middle age in men who eventually developed diabetes.
Seventy-seven cases of incident diabetes occurred
over a median follow-up of 38 years. The mean
age of the subjects at diagnosis was 58 years. "As
early as age 30 years, mean SBP and DBP were significantly
higher in men who developed diabetes during follow-up
than in those who remained nondiabetic (SBP 122 versus
119 mm Hg, p = 0.009; DBP 78 versus 75 mm Hg, p =
0.0005)," Dr. Golden and colleagues report.
These differences remained significant after
adjusting for BMI and other risk factors for
diabetes.
"
Higher BP in the prediabetic state might contribute
to the presence of vascular disease at the time of
diagnosis of type 2 diabetes," Dr. Golden and
colleagues conclude. Whether this can be prevented
by treatment of high blood pressure in young adulthood
requires further study, they add. Diabetes Care 2003;26:1110-1113.
