-May 24, 2006
A new Harvard study indicates that drugs used to treat high blood pressure– diuretics and beta-blockers– can increase the risk of diabetes.
The exact relationship between antihypertensive drugs and the risk of diabetes is unclear, according to researchers, whose results were published in the medical journal Diabetes Care. They also add that previous studies have yielded conflicting results.
Three studies were used to examine the link between high blood pressure medications and diabetes. All three studies involved large groups of men and women: every subject had high blood pressure but did not have diabetes at the start of the studies. The subjects were followed for eight to sixteen years, depending on which study they participated in.
Thiazide diuretics
Research shows that in patients taking thiazide-type diuretics, men were 36 percent more likely to develop diabetes, older women were 20 percent more likely, and younger women were 45 percent more likely, compared to those who did not take these types of medications. These results were collected after accounting for other possible risk factors such as weight, age, and level of physical activity.
Beta-blockers
Older women taking beta-blocker drugs for hypertension were 32 percent more likely to develop diabetes compared to those not taking beta-blockers. Men were 20 percent more likely to develop diabetes when taking these medications.
According to the report, calcium channel blockers and ACE inhibitors did not appear to increase the risk for diabetes in patients with hypertension.
Experts feel that this evidence should warrant increased surveillance for diabetes in hypertension patients taking beta-blockers or diuretics.
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