News - Hypertension Week of April 20, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 16

Study: Combination Test Can Identify Hypertensive Diabetics

A new combination test that screens hypertensive people for diabetes is just as sensitive and a lot cheaper than the test currently recognized as the gold standard in diabetes detection.

The combination test measures both fasting blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin levels.

In their study reported in the April issue of the American Journal of Hypertension, University of Vienna researchers compared the combination test with the gold standard oral glucose tolerance test which is highly sensitive in detecting even the most mild forms of diabetes.

The researchers conducted their study at the hypertension unit of Vienna General Hospital between January 1999 and July 2001. Combination and standard tests were performed in 152 hypertensive patients to identify those with diabetes.

The oral glucose tolerance test identified 33 patients as being diabetic. The first of the two-step tests detected diabetes in 25 patients by measuring their fasting blood glucose levels. The eight remaining patients were identified through the second-step of the testing which involves measuring glycated hemoglobin levels.

The cost of the oral glucose tolerance test was $73.38 per patient, compared to $42.34 per patient for the two-step test.

"The combined use of fasting plasma glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin identified all diabetic patients and revealed no false negative results," concluded the researchers. "Based on our study results, recommendations concerning the screening of hypertensive patients should be reevaluated, as the combination of fasting plasma glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin increased sensitivity of both methods."

Dr. Michael A. Weber, an editor of the American Journal of Hypertension, said the combination test would enable diabetic hypertensives to be identified early, enabling physicians to select the correct drug therapy since these patients require different medications than those with hypertension alone.

American Journal of Hypertension: April 2003; 16:297-301