Association between Raised Blood Pressure and Dysglycaemia in Hong Kong Chinese

Abstract

Objective: Hypertension and diabetes are closely related. We therefore investigated the association between raised blood pressure (SBP≥130mmHg or DBP≥85mmHg) and dysglycaemia (fasting plasma glucose≥5.6 mmol/L or OGTT 2-hour glucose≥7.8mmol/L) in the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence Study Cohort. Methods: We studied the association between hypertension and diabetes in 1862 subjects in the cohort at baseline and the factors predicting their development after a period of 6 years in 1496 subjects who did not have either condition at baseline. Results: At baseline, hypertension and diabetes were both related to age, obesity indices, blood pressure, glucose, HDL and triglycerides. Only 59.7% of subjects had normal blood pressure and glucose tolerance, 11.4% had raised blood pressure and dysglycaemia, 17.1% had raised blood pressure only and 11.8% had dysglycaemia only. 58% of people with diabetes had raised blood pressure while 56% of people with hypertension had dysglycaemia. At the 6-year follow-up, age, systolic blood pressure and triglycerides were independent predictors of new-onset hypertension while body mass index, fasting glucose and triglycerides were independent predictors of new-onset diabetes. Body mass index, systolic blood pressure and 2-hour glucose predicted the development of hypertension and diabetes together. Conclusions: Hypertension and diabetes share common aetiological factors. There is a large overlap between raised blood pressure and dysglycaemia due to obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Patients with either hypertension or diabetes should be screened for elevated blood pressure and blood glucose. Support from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council is gratefully acknowledged.