PLASMA HOMOCYSTEINE AND FOLATE ARE RELATED TO ARTERIAL BLOOD-PRESSUREIN TYPE-2 DIABETES-MELLITUS

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between homocyste ine (tHcy), folate and vitamin B-12 levels, urinary albumin excretion, and arterial blood pressure in patients with noninsulin-dependent dia betes mellitus (NIDDM). Our study was carried out in 33 NIDDM patients (16 men, 17 women) and 16 healthy volunteers as controls (seven men, nine women). Fasting and postmethionine load plasma tHcy levels were a ssessed, together with folate, vitamin B-12 and urinary albumin excret ion levels. In NIDDM patients, there were correlations between folate and mean arterial pressure (r = -0.352, P =.046), folate and systolic blood pressure (r = -0.437, P = .013), folate and vitamin B-12 (r = 0. 499, P = .004), tHcy and vitamin B-12 (r = -0.348, P = .04), In tHcy a nd In folate (r = -0.404, P = .01), and, lastly, between tHcy, either fasting or postload, and urinary albumin excretion. Patients with elev ated tHcy levels had significantly higher diastolic blood pressure (P =.04) and mean arterial pressure (P = .03). Otherwise, higher folate v alues were associated with lower systolic blood pressure (P = .004) an d mean arterial pressure (P = .02). In addition, NIDDM patients with c omplications presented higher tHcy basal values than the group without complications (P = .003). a particular propensity of such patients to wards endothelial dysfunction could explain the presence of correlatio ns between these metabolic parameters and arterial blood pressure. Am J Hypertens 1998; 11:1100-1107 (C) 1998 American Journal of Hypertensi on, Ltd.