Evidence That Prehypertension Is A Risk Factor For Type 2 Diabetes

Whether or not blood pressure categories below 140/90 mmHg are associated with incident Type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease is subject to debate. Currently, a blood pressure of 120-139/80-89 mmHg is recognized as prehypertension. This article evaluates the association of prehypertension with incident Type 2 diabetes in the San Antonio Heart study. The authors found that prehypertension in the entire cohort was not related to incident Type 2 diabetes in fully adjusted analyses, but that a blood pressure of 130-139/85-89 mmHg was related to incident diabetes. These results, and conclusions of other studies, suggest that the prehypertension category should be divided for diabetes risk assessment.