[Factors of arterial and renal complications in diabetes]

In a population of 744 diabetics composed mainly of elderly female patients, 172 developed hypertension after the onset of diabetes. Compared to normotensive diabetics, they had an increased prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (p less than 0.001), cerebral accidents, ischemic disorders of the lower limbs and a decreased glomerular filtration rate (p less than 0.05); they are frequently insulin-dependent and difficult to manage. In 173 other indivuals the diabetes emerged several years after the hypertension. This group was characterized by relatively easily controlled blood sugar and increased prevalence of angina and myocardial infarction (p less than 0.001). The association of hypercholesteremia with hypertension increases the risk of coronary disease (p less than 0.02) and, to a lesser degree, of glomerular insufficiency. The prevalence of coronary symptoms increases with obesity (p less than 0.05) while retinopathy increases with insulin dependence (p less than 0.001). From this information it may be concluded that the importance of various risk factors in the diabetic chiefly varies according to the vascular territory involved: cerebral vascular accidents occur mainly in hypertensives, while the presence of retinopathies, proteinuria and peripheral ischemia is directly related to the diabetes and particularly to insulin dependence. The risk of coronary lesions increases considerably when hypertension is added to the diabetes, with an even greater risk in the case of a diabetic, hypertensive, hypercholesterolemic nexus.