Background

Early hypertension control reduces the risk of cardiovascular complications among patients with diabetes mellitus. There is a need to improve hypertension management among patients with diabetes mellitus.

Objective

We aimed to evaluate rates and associations of hypertension diagnosis and treatment among patients with diabetes mellitus and incident hypertension.

Design

This was a 4-year retrospective analysis of electronic health records.

Participants

Adults ≥ 18 years old (n = 771) with diabetes mellitus, who met criteria for incident hypertension and received primary care at a large, Midwestern academic group practice from 2008 to 2011 were included

Main measures

Cut-points of 130/80 and 140/90 mmHg were used to identify incident cases of hypertension. Kaplan-Meier analysis estimated the probability of receiving: 1) an initial hypertension diagnosis and 2) antihypertensive medication at specific time points. Cox proportional-hazard frailty models (HR; 95 % CI) were fit to identify associations of time to hypertension diagnosis and treatment.

Key results

Among patients with diabetes mellitus who met clinical criteria for hypertension, 41 % received a diagnosis and 37 % received medication using the 130/80 mmHg cut-point. At the 140/90 mmHg cut-point, 52 % received a diagnosis and 49 % received medication. Atrial fibrillation (HR 2.18; 1.21-4.67) was associated with faster diagnosis rates; peripheral vascular disease (HR 0.18; 0.04-0.74) and fewer primary care visits (HR 0.93; 0.88-0.98) were associated with slower diagnosis rates. Atrial fibrillation (HR 3.07; 1.39-6.74) and ischemic heart disease/congestive heart failure (HR 2.16; 1.24-3.76) were associated with faster treatment rates; peripheral vascular disease (HR 0.16; 0.04-0.64) and fewer visits (HR 0.93; 0.88-0.98) predicted slower medication initiation. Diagnosis and treatment of incident hypertension were similar using cut-points of 130/80 and 140/90 mmHg.

Conclusions

Among patients with diabetes mellitus, even using a cut-point of 140/90 mmHg, approximately 50 % remained undiagnosed and untreated for hypertension. Future interventions should target patients with multiple comorbidities to improve hypertension and diabetes clinical care.