High blood pressure link to diabetes

The Spanish research found that taking blood pressure medication may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes if it is taken at bedtime rather than in the next morning.

A few people take blood pressure medications in the morning, others take them at night.

People with high blood pressure are nearly 60% more likely to develop diabetes, according to research on 4.1 million people.

All participants involved in the study were free of cardiovascular disease and diabetes at baseline.

BRIDGET BRENNAN: Professor Anoushka Patel is the chief scientist at the George Institute for Global Health. Considering that there is an obesity epidemic and widespread ignorance or misinformation circulating about cardiovascular health and blood pressure, these findings, as simple as they are, can help more people make smart decisions regarding their health.

“Our job is to provide research information to the larger scientific community and health professionals, so when you have a trial like this one that’s completed successfully, we feel we accomplished our mission”, he said.

High blood pressure was linked with new cases of diabetes in a wide range of individuals, including men and women, people of varying ages, as well as those who were normal weight, overweight and obese.

Doctors on a conference call to discuss the study said blood pressure of 120 over 80 was seen as desirable, but that 140/90 was a commonly used target. Additionally, high blood pressure was better controlled.

Rahimi added, though, that further research needs to be done to prove a causal link, while there should also be additional investigations to assess if lowering blood pressure could prevent type 2 diabetes.

ANOUSHKA PATEL: That’s what we are fundamentally interested in. Dr. Ramon Hermida, who is the study’s lead author, explained “The results from our prospective study indicate lowering asleep blood pressure could indeed be a significant method for reducing the risk of developing diabetes”.

The team believe their findings could boost the case for tackling the diabetes threat by prescribing drugs to lower blood pressure.