Pills taken by millions of Britons to lower blood pressure could help combat the nation’s diabetes crisis, a review suggests.
Although the drugs protect against strokes and heart attacks as well, new research suggests that they may also lower the likelihood of getting type 2 diabetes.
Researchers from Oxford and Bristol Universities analysed data from 19 international studies that involved 145,939 individuals.
The average time each was kept track of them for was 4.5 years. 9883 people later developed type II diabetes.
A 5 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure — the top number in a reading — was found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 11 per cent.
Such a reduction is ‘easy to achieve’ through commonly prescribed medication or healthy lifestyle changes, the academics say.
Writing in The Lancet medical journal, they added: ‘Blood pressure lowering is an effective strategy for the prevention of new-onset type 2 diabetes.
‘This evidence supports the indication for selected classes of antihypertensive drugs for the prevention of diabetes.’
Experts have previously warned that Britain’s diabetes crisis threatens to ‘bankrupt the NHS’ as one in every eight pounds spent on prescriptions is now for disease.
The health service spent £1.19billion on the likes of anti-diabetes pills and insulin in England last year — up a quarter since 2015/16.
A staggering five million British citizens are believed to be suffering from diabetes. Nine in ten of them have type 2.
Experts have previously warned that Britain’s diabetes crisis threatens to ‘bankrupt the NHS’ as one in every eight pounds spent on prescriptions is now for disease. The health service spent £1.19billion on the likes of anti-diabetes pills and insulin in England last year — up a quarter since 2015/16. Nearly 5 million Brits have diabetes. Of these, 9 in 10 have it. Image: A nurse performing a diabetic test on a patient.
Researchers compared the effects of 5 major blood pressure medications from 22 clinical trials to determine if they were different than a placebo.
They found angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor-II blockers (ARBs) had the strongest protective effect, with both reducing a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 16 per cent.
But, there were no other blood pressure-lowering medicines that could protect you.
Calcium channel blockers did not have an effect on diabetes risk. Beta-blockers, thiazide diuretics and beta-blockers increased risk despite the known benefits of these drugs to protect against heart attacks.
Doctors already know about this risk and consider it before prescribing drugs.
It is believed that the differences in how drugs work within the body are responsible for the varied effects they have on diabetes risk.
People at highest risk for developing type 2 Diabetes should maintain a healthy body weight and live an active lifestyle.
However, researchers have indicated that ARBs as well as ACEs may be included in some patients’ treatment plans.
Using ARBs (ACE inhibitors) to lower blood sugar in those at higher risk for type 2 diabetics might result in 30,000 fewer type 2 cases in the UK.
Professor Kazem Rahimi, lead researcher of the study at the University of Oxford and consultant cardiologist, said: ‘Current clinical guidelines do not provide clear recommendations on lowering blood pressure as a strategy to prevent type 2 diabetes.
‘Our research provides clear evidence that giving ACE inhibitors or ARBs, which are widely available and affordable worldwide, to patients at high risk could curb the growing burden of type 2 diabetes.’
Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, which partially funded the review, said: ‘Diabetes and high blood pressure are two important and growing problems which increase a person’s chance of developing an array of other serious health complications, including heart attacks and strokes.
‘This research shows that the two are inter-connected and that lowering blood pressure could be a powerful way to reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
‘It also shows that different commonly used drugs for lowering blood pressure have very different effects on risk of diabetes.
Oxford and Bristol universities analysed 19 studies that surveyed 145,939 participants. On average, each participant was monitored for 4.5 years. 9883 people later developed type 2. A 5 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure — the top number in a reading — was found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 11 per cent. Image: A diabetic woman receives an insulin injection.
‘Doctors should therefore consider the patient’s risk of developing diabetes when they are choosing an anti-hypertensive drug to lower their blood pressure.’
A genetic analysis method called Mendelian randomisation confirmed the beneficial effects of antihypertensive medications.
The system randomly assigns participants to groups based on naturally occurring genetic differences, similar to a clinical trial.
Type 2 diabetes risk for people with lower blood pressure was 12 percent less than for those who don’t have it.
Type 1 diabetes, which is usually unpreventable, is common in children. However type 2 can be prevented and linked to obesity.
It can cause blindness and kidney damage, as well as heart attacks, strokes, and even death. Some people require limb amputations.
This prescription data is limited to pharmaceutical treatments. It does not consider the cost of treating such complications.
Other studies have put the total cost to the NHS at £14billion a year or more than £25,000 every minute.