If the result is confirmed by further studies, it indicates an easy change in the medication routine for those with high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
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University of California, Los Angeles endocrinologist Matthew Freeby, who was not involved in the latest studies, called the trial “very well done”, and its findings “compelling”. Thursday’s papers are among a recent string of studies that link sleep patterns-or disruption of sleep-with development of diabetes and problems with high blood pressure.
These patients were divided into two groups.
Taking blood pressure pills at bedtime rather than in the morning not only reduces BP while asleep but also lowers the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, promising research has revealed. All three classes of medication were associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes when taken at bedtime, the researchers found. Previous studies have shown that non-dippers are at higher risk of “cardiovascular events” such as heart attacks and stroke.
For this study, Dr. Hermida and team looked at more than 2,000 hypertensive men and women with an average age of 53.
After an average of 5.9 years of follow-up, 190 participants had developed type 2 diabetes.
In the first paper, the authors detail their work proving the concept that reducing BP during hours of sleep represents a target for intervention to prevent new cases of diabetes.
High blood pressure costs the U.S. an estimated $46 billion every year. Patients were randomized to receive hypertension medication, either in the morning upon awakening or at night prior to bed. For those on ACE inhibitors at night, the odds went down 69 percent.
Patients were randomised to ingest all their prescribed hypertension medications upon awakening or the entire daily dose of one or more of them at bedtime. The importance of blood pressure at night. Patients’ blood pressure was monitored for 48-hour periods at least once a year-or more frequently if medication was adjusted-to accurately gauge blood pressure during the day and at night. Treatment at night versus morning.
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In a large clinical trial conducted in Spain and published Wednesday in the journal Diabetologia, that hypothesis turned out to be true.
