About Diabetes and Hypertension > Facts and Statistics

Facts and Statistics

The following information has been published in the scientific and medical literature.

". . . hypertension is twice as common in persons with diabetes as it is in others." (Konzem SL, Am Fam Physician. Oct 1 66(7):1209-1214 2002)

"Elevated blood pressure is known to contribute to diabetic microvascular and macrovascular complications . . . fortunately, reductions in blood pressure can reduce the risk of these complications." (Konzem SL, Am Fam Physician. Oct 1 66(7):1209-1214 2002)

"Blood pressure control can reduce cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) by approximately 33% to 50% and can reduce microvascular disease (eye, kidney, and nerve disease) by approximately 33%. In general, for every 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) reduction in systolic blood pressure, the risk for any complication related to diabetes is reduced by 12%." (Centers for Disease Control)

". . . people with both diabetes and hypertension have approximately twice the risk of cardiovascular disease as nondiabetic people with hypertension. Hypertensive diabetic patients are also at increased risk for diabetes-specific complications including retinopathy and nephropathy." (American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Care. January 26(Suppl 1):S80-S82 2003)

"Among [Medicare] beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular-related comorbidities were common and accounted for increased odds of preventable hospitalization, controlling for other factors. Other data shows that individuals with diabetes especially benefit from interventions aimed at improving patient adherence to therapeutic recommendations." (Niefled MR, et al., Diabetes Care. 26(5):1344-1349 2003)

". . . HBPM [Home Blood Pressure Monitoring] can diagnose normotension with almost absolute certainty; it correlates better with target organ damage and cardiovascular mortality than OBPM [Office Blood Pressure Measurement], it enables prediction of sustained hypertension in patients with borderline hypertension, and it proves to be an appropriate tool for assessing drug efficacy." (Verberk WJ, Am Coll Cardiol. Sept 6 46(54):743-751 2005)

"In patients with CKD [Chronic Kidney Disease], BP's obtained at home are a stronger predictor of ESRD or death compared to BP's obtained in the clinic." (Agarwal R and Andersen MJ, Kidney International. 69:406-411 2006)

"Because patients with diabetes and hypertension are at high risk for complications, consensus statements . . . recommend lower blood pressure goals for patients with diabetes than for the general population." (Konzem SL, Am Fam Physician. Oct 1 66(7):1209-1214 2002)

"There is substantial evidence that the detection, treatment and control of hypertension and diabetes in the general population can be improved. Data . . . found that 24% of the U.S. adult population were hypertensive; a third of these individuals were unaware of their hypertensive status, 47% of these hypertensive patients were not treated, and among those administered medication, only a quarter had a blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg." (Peter WL, et al, Am J Kidney Dis. 41(5):903-924 2003)