Summary
The prevalence of hypertension in a representative sample (n=10202) of the Danish general population aged 16–59 years was assessed to 4.4% based on three blood pressure readings. In Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients of similar age (n=1703) the prevalence was determined in a similar way to 14.7% (p<0.00001). The excess prevalence in Type 1 diabetic patients was due to hypertension in patients with incipient and clinical nephropathy as the prevalence of hypertension among diabetic patients with normal urinary albumin excretion (essential hypertension) was 3.9%, similar to that observed in the general population. The patients with Type 1 diabetes and essential hypertension had higher systolic (146±19 vs 133±18 mmHg, p<0.00001) and diastolic blood pressure (87±12 vs 79±7mmHg, p<0.00001), but less changes in the eye background than patients with incipient nephropathy (urinary albumin excretion 30–300 mg/24 h) (p<0.03), indicating that the two groups were also different with respect to other microangiopathic lesions. Patients with essential hypertension were defined as having a normal urinary albumin excretion before and during antihypertensive treatment (if any). They were followed-up for a 58 (6–234) month period. We confirmed that hypertension is more common among Type 1 diabetic patients than in the general population and found the prevalence of essential hypertension similar in Type 1 diabetic patients to the non-diabetic population. This supports our hypothesis that hypertension is very unlikely to be the cause of diabetic nephropathy.
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Nørgaard, K., Feldt-Rasmussen, B., Borch-Johnsen, K. et al. Prevalence of hypertension in Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. Diabetologia 33, 407–410 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404089
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404089