High Blood Pressure Raises Diabetes Risk
Women's chances of developing disease seem unrelated to weight

(HealthDay News) -- A heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney failure are all more likely among people with high blood pressure. But type 2 diabetes apparently should be on that list as well, at least for women.

Researchers have found that women with high blood pressure are up to three times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with normal blood pressure.

A research team from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health tracked the health of more than 38,000 female health professionals for more than 10 years. At the start of the study, the women -- all free of diabetes or cardiovascular disease -- were divided into four groups based on their blood pressure: optimal (below 120 mm/Hg systolic, 75 mm/Hg diastolic), normal (120-129 mm/Hg systolic, 75-84 mm/Hg diastolic), high-normal (130-139 mm/Hg systolic, 85-89 mm/Hg diastolic) and high (at least 140 mm/Hg systolic, 90 mm/Hg diastolic, or a history of hypertension or treatment for the condition).

In a 10-year period, 9.4 percent of the women who had high blood pressure had developed type 2 diabetes, compared with 5.7 percent of the high-normal group, 2.9 percent of the normal group, and 1.4 percent of the optimal group.

Even after adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, exercise and family history of diabetes, the researchers concluded that the women with high blood pressure still had a threefold increased risk of diabetes, compared with women with optimal blood pressure.

"We found that obesity was also a strong and independent risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes," lead author Dr. David Conen, a cardiologist and research fellow, said in a prepared statement. "However, statistical analyses showed that the relationship between blood pressure and the onset of type 2 diabetes was similar among women who were normal weight, overweight or obese"

Conen and his colleagues suggested that a possible mechanism for the link between blood pressure and diabetes might be endothelial dysfunction -- the disruption of normal biochemical processes carried out by the cells that line the inner surfaces of blood vessels.

"It may be a precursor of both hypertension and diabetes," Conen said.

But fortunately, experts say, both high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes can be controlled or even prevented with healthy living.

According to the National Institutes of Health, high blood pressure can be controlled by:

• Maintaining a healthy weight.
• Being moderately physically active on most days of the week.
• Following a healthy diet, which includes foods lower in sodium.
• Drinking alcoholic beverages only in moderation, if at all.
• Taking medications as directed if prescribed for high blood pressure.

And following the first four of these steps can help prevent high blood pressure in the first place.

Steps also can be taken to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. The National Diabetes Education Program suggests starting with three simple lifestyle changes:

• Lose 5 percent to 7 percent of body weight.
• Eat healthier.
• Get 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week.

On the Web

Learn more about diabetes and pre-diabetes by visiting the National Diabetes Education Program.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Oxford University Press, news release, Oct. 9, 2007; National Diabetes Education Program (www.ndep.nih.gov); MedlinePlus , U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus)
Author: Anne Thompson
Publication Date: Oct. 31, 2008
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