Insulin Resistance and Hypertension Are Linked

Although insulin resistance is frequent in men with treatedhypertension, researchers have reported that the traditional riskfactors do not reliably diagnose the condition. Their study examinedthe rate of insulin resistance among 106 men with hypertensionwho were considered at high risk for cardiovascular diseaseand 18 healthy participants. Of the 106 patients, 21 were insulinresistant,36 were insulin-sensitive, and 49 fell into an intermediategroup. Mean blood pressure did not differ in the 3 groups.

The researchers noted that body mass index, triglyceride levels,and glucose levels were greater and high-density lipoproteincholesterol levels were lower in the insulin-resistant group,compared with the insulin-sensitive group. Significant overlapwas seen between the groups, however. In the 3 years of follow-up, 2 patients in the insulin-resistant group and 1 patient inthe intermediate group were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.The participants in the insulin-sensitive group did not developdiabetes. (The findings were reported recently in the AmericanJournal of Hypertension.)