Association of Thiazide‐Type Diuretics With Glycemic Changes in Hypertensive Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials

Patients receiving thiazide diuretics have a higher risk of impaired glucose tolerance or even incident diabetes, but the change of blood glucose level varies across different trials. The aim of this study was to investigate the glycemic changes in hypertensive patients with thiazide-type diuretics. Twenty-six randomized trials involving 16,162 participants were included. Thiazide-type diuretics were found to increase fasting plasma glucose (FPG) compared with nonthiazide agents or placebo or nontreatment (mean difference [MD], 0.27 mmol/L [4.86 mg/dL]; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.15-0.39). Patients receiving lower doses of thiazides (hydrochlorothiazide or chlorthalidone ≤25 mg daily) had less change in FPG (MD, 0.15 mmol/L [2.7 mg/dL]; 95% CI, 0.03-0.27) than those receiving higher doses (MD, 0.60 mmol/L [10.8 mg/dL]; 95% CI, 0.39-0.82), revealed by the subgroup analysis of thiazides vs calcium channel blockers. Thiazide-type diuretics are associated with significant but small adverse glycemic effects in hypertensive patients. Treatment with a lower dose might reduce or avoid glycemic changes.