Established, but not newly diagnosed, type 2 diabetes is associated with reduced survival in older patients with hypertension, say Australian researchers.
Their study- published today in the American Journal of Hypertension- looked at 6083 patients who took part in a hypertension trial and who have been tracked since for a median of almost seven years.
Just over 43% of patients who had already been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when they entered the trial at 65 years old had died of any cause, compared to just under 30% of those without diabetes, a 50% increased risk.
But the all-cause mortality rate among patients with newly diagnosed diabetes was identical to that in patients who remained free of the condition.
They conclude that newly diagnosed diabetes had a minimal impact over that of other comorbidities, such as cancer and dementia, that are often present in this age group.
