The influence of prehypertension, hypertension, and glycated hemoglobin on the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in prediabetes: the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES)

It has been reported that elevated blood pressure (BP) was significantly associated with the increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, there is still limited information about the influence of BP on the risk for T2DM across the level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). In a cohort of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES), 2830 non-diabetic Korean adults with prediabetes defined by HbA1c level of 5.7-6.4% were followed-up for 10 years. Multivariate cox proportional hazards assumption was used to assess the risk for T2DM according to the baseline BP categories (normal, prehypertension and hypertension) and HbA1c level (low: 5.7-5.9% and high: 6.0-6.4%). The risk for T2DM significantly increased proportionally to BP categories (adjusted HR; reference in normal BP, 1.32 [1.10-1.59] in prehypertension and 1.61 [1.35-1.92] in hypertension). Subgroup analysis indicated that individuals with high HbA1c had the higher risk for T2DM than individuals with low HbA1c regardless of BP. Additionally, combined presence of hypertension and high HbA1c had the highest risk for T2DM (adjusted HR: 3.82 [3.00-4.87]). In each systolic and diastolic BP level, the risk for T2DM significantly increased from systolic BP 130 mmHg (adjusted HRs: 1.39 ([1.15-1.71]) and diastolic BP 80 mmHg (adjusted HRs: 1.30 ([1.07-1.58]). BP and HbA1c may be useful tools in identifying individuals with prediabetes more potentially predisposed to T2DM. Prospective studies should be considered to examine whether controlling BP actually lowers the risk for T2DM.