Greater Effect of Glycemia on Incidence of Hypertension in Women Than in Men

OBJECTIVE: In subjects with NIDDM, diabetic women have a greater relative excess of CHD relative to nondiabetic women than do diabetic men relative to nondiabetic men. This excess in diabetic women is explained partially by the particularly atherogenic pattern of lipoproteins in this group. We hypothesize that diabetic women also may have a higher incidence of hypertension than diabetic men. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We examined the effect of NIDDM and IGT relative to NGT on the incidence of hypertension separately in men (n = 844) and women (n = 618) in the 8-yr follow-up of the San Antonio Heart Study, a population-based study of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. RESULTS: Women had a greater risk of hypertension with worsening glucose tolerance (RR NIDDM/NGT = 2.65 and RR IGT/NGT = 1.94) compared with men (RR NIDDM/NGT = 1.61 and RR IGT/NGT = 0.91). Controlling for other possible confounding variables such as age, obesity, body fat distribution, and fasting insulin concentration did not alter the interaction of sex and glycemia on incidence of hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: The especially increased risk of hypertension in women with abnormal glucose tolerance may explain partly the high risk of CHD in this group.