| Water pills increase diabetes risk
in major study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a major study of blood pressure
drugs, patients treated with water pills, or "diuretics,"
were at increased risk of developing diabetes, according to research
presented here at the annual scientific meeting of the American
Society of Hypertension.
But Dr. Joshua Barzilay, from Emory University in Atlanta, said
that the increase in diabetes did not translate into an increased
risk of heart attack or stroke.
In the 42,000-patient study, known as ALLHAT, researchers compared
four types of blood pressure drugs: a diuretic, an alpha-blocker,
a calcium channel blocker, and an ACE inhibitor.
After two years of treatment, 9.3 percent of patients who received
a diuretic called Hygroton (chlorthalidone) developed diabetes.
In contrast, with the other drugs no more than 7 percent of patients
developed diabetes. By 4 years, the difference was still apparent.
Barzilay suggested that further studies might be able to determine
if costs are increased because those patients who develop diabetes
need further treatments.
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