Impairment of glucose metabolism during treatment with antihypertensive drugs.

A reversible deterioration of the oral glucose tolerance has been reported in subjects with initially impaired glucose tolerance when starting to take oral diuretics. This does not seem to be the case in subjects with an initially unimpaired glucose tolerance. A deterioration in the diabetic state is commonly seen when diuretics are given to subjects with clinical diabetes. Our knowledge about the effect of beta-blockers on the glucose tolerance is limited. As for diuretics there seems to be an overrepresentation of diabetics among subjects taking beta-blockers. This overrepresentation can probably be explained by an association between diabetes and disturbances in which diuretics and beta-blockers are commonly used such as arterial hypertension and ischaemic heart disease.