Hypertension, proteinuria and azotaemia in diabetes

The prevalence of hypertension was evaluated in 479 white subjects with diabetes, according to the type of diabetes and the presence of persistent proteinuria as a marker for diabetic nephropathy. Hypertension was uncommon in 178 insulin dependent diabetic subjects without proteinuria (5%) (mean age 25.0 +/- 12.5 years), but occurred in 23% of 58 patients with proteinuria (mean age 28.9 +/- 14.1 years) and in 90% with azotaemia (P less than 0.00001). Among patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes hypertension was found in 25% of 170 without renal disease (mean age 48.0 +/- 10.3 years) and in 53% of 53 (mean age 51.4 +/- 13.0 years) with proteinuria (P = 0.0002). We conclude that the prevalence of hypertension among subjects with diabetes depends on the type of diabetes, age, and the presence and severity of diabetic renal involvement.