• Raj Padwal, Muhammad Mamdani, David A Alter, Jan E Hux, Deanna M Rothwell, Karen Tu, and Andreas Laupacis.
• Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. rpadwal@ualberta.ca
• Diabetes Care. 2004 Oct 1; 27 (10): 2458-63.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine whether the incidence of type 2 diabetes differed among elderly users of four major antihypertensive drug classes.Research Design And MethodsThis was a retrospective, observational cohort study of previously untreated elderly patients (aged > or = 66 years) identified as new users of an antihypertensive drug class between April 1995 and March 2000. Using a Cox proportional hazards model, the primary analysis compared diabetes incidence in users of ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers (CCBs), with thiazide diuretics allowed as second-line therapy. In the secondary analysis, thiazide diuretics were added as a fourth study group.ResultsIn the multivariable-adjusted primary analysis (n = 76,176), neither ACE inhibitor use (hazard ratio 0.96 [95% CI 0.84-1.1]) nor beta-blocker use (0.86 [0.74-1.0]) was associated with a statistically significant difference in type 2 diabetes incidence compared with the CCB control group. In the secondary analysis (n = 100,653), compared with CCB users, type 2 diabetes incidence was not significantly different between users of ACE inhibitors (0.97 [0.83-1.1]), beta-blockers (0.84 [0.7-1.0]), or thiazide diuretics (1.0 [0.89-1.2]).ConclusionsType 2 diabetes incidence did not significantly differ among users of the major antihypertensive drug classes in this elderly, population-based administrative cohort. These results do not support the theory that different antihypertensive drug classes are relatively more or less likely to cause diabetes.Copyright 2004 American Diabetes Association

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