[Incidence of arterial hypertension in relation to the blood sugar level in men and women aged 20 to 69 (a 1-factor epidemiological study)].

Arterial blood pressure (BP) was measured in 1225 males and 1243 females aged 20 to 69 years, who were also screened for glycemia by means of the glucose tolerance test (GTT). According to WHO recommendations, arterial hypertension (AH) was defined as systolic BP elevated to or above 160 mm Hg or diastolic BP elevated to or above 95 mm Hg. The incidence of AH was shown to be significantly related to the degree of glycemia in both males and females, the relationship being much closer in the latter. The prevalence of systolic AH in the females showed highly significant correlation to glycemia at any point of the GTT, while that of diastolic AH was only correlated with basal and 1-hour glycemia. In the males, the prevalence of systolic AH was significantly related to basal and 1-hour glycemia, and that of diastolic AH was only related to the distribution of basal glycemia.