Diabetes, high blood pressure combo puts more Americans at risk
A study shows that a combination of diabetes/high blood pressure threatens more American lives. Adobe stock/HealthDay
Twice as many Americans now face the increased risk of death that comes from having both high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, a new study reports.
About 12% of the U.S. population had high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes at the same time in 2018, up from 6% in 1999, researchers reported recently in the journal Diabetes Care.
Having both conditions more than doubled the risk of dying from any cause and tripled the risk of death from heart disease, compared to those without either condition, researchers found.
"Even having co-existing prediabetes and elevated blood pressure was associated with up to 19% higher mortality risk, compared to having neither or either of these risk states," said senior researcher Nour Makarem, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
"This suggests that the increase in risk of dying commences before levels of blood glucose and blood pressure progress to Type 2 diabetes and hypertension," she said in a news release.
For the study, researchers analyzed data for nearly 49,000 adults who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2018. Conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the survey includes health exams and lab tests to check the health of participants.
"A striking finding is that the burden of co-existing hypertension and type 2 diabetes nearly doubled over the study period," Makarem said. "Overall, about two-thirds of participants with diabetes also had hypertension, and about a quarter of adults with hypertension had concurrent diabetes."
About a third of people with both high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes died during a median follow-up of about nine years, researchers found. (Median means half died sooner, half later.)
By comparison, 20% of those with only type 2 diabetes and 22% of those with only high blood pressure died. Just 6% of people with neither chronic health problem died.
Overall, the study concluded that:
Compared to having high blood pressure only, having both conditions increased risk of premature death from any cause by 66% and heart-related death by 54%.
Compared to having type 2 diabetes only, having both increased risk of premature death by 25% and more than doubled the risk of heart-related death.
"This underscores the urgent need for public health strategies to effectively prevent and manage these conditions and reverse these adverse trends," Makarem said.
More information
The American Diabetes Association has more on diabetes and high blood pressure.
Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Liberal news outlet mocked for reporting on ‘mysterious' drop in fentanyl flowing across border
The Washington Post is being mocked online and by the White House for "pathetic" reporting on what the liberal-leaning news outlet calls a "mysterious" decline in fentanyl flowing across the border. Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that is often trafficked into the United States across the southern and northern borders by cartels and other criminal elements. In 2024, fentanyl was linked to the death of 48,422 persons in the United States, according to the CDC. During his campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to wage a war against fentanyl traffickers through increased border security and by cracking down on illegal immigration. Since taking office, Trump has deployed U.S. troops to the southern border, targeted cartels and transnational criminal groups as "foreign terrorist organizations" and hit cartel leaders with sanctions. According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), the U.S. law enforcement seizures of fentanyl, which the group explains is a "key indicator of broader total smuggling at and between the southern border's ports of entry," have dropped 50% since the November election. CIS states that this significant decline indicates a "greater decline in total fentanyl smuggling." Bondi Announces One Of Largest Fentanyl Seizures In Us History The Washington Post reports on this decline, stating that U.S. seizures at the southern border are down by almost 30 percent compared with the same period in 2024. The outlet, however, states that the drop "represents something of a mystery." Read On The Fox News App "After years of confiscating rising amounts of fentanyl, the opioid that has fueled the most lethal drug epidemic in American history, U.S. officials are confronting a new and puzzling reality at the Mexican border. Fentanyl seizures are plummeting," wrote the Post. Among the possible reasons listed by the outlet are cartels finding other ways to smuggle the drug into the U.S., cartel internal strife, ingredient shortages and a possible decline in demand. Though baffled by the reason for the decline, The Washington Post posited that "public health authorities are concerned that the Trump administration's budget cuts could hurt programs that have promoted overdose antidotes and addiction treatment." Some Fentanyl Dealers Would Be Charged With Felony Murder Under New Bill The article was widely mocked by conservatives online. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., commented on X, "The Washington Post is reporting a 'mysterious drop' in fentanyl seizures at the southern border. Mystery solved! The Trump effect is working." Charlie Kirk, a popular conservative influencer, also commented, saying: "Four months into the Trump administration, The Washington Post is marveling at the 'mysterious' drop in fentanyl seizures on the Mexican border … Is the Post simply lying, or are their reporters as dumb as the people they're writing propaganda for?" Click Here For More Immigration Coverage The Department of Homeland Security's official X account also replied, commenting: "It's no mystery. On day one, [President] Trump closed our borders to drug traffickers." DHS said that "from March 2024 to March 2025 fentanyl traffic at the southern border fell by 54%." "The world has heard the message loud and clear," said DHS. Whistleblower Accuses Biden Admin Of Leaving Thousands Of Migrant Child Trafficking Reports Uninvestigated Several top White House spokespersons also weighed in. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt simply called the Post "pathetic," and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said: "They can't stand that President Trump's strong border policies have led to a DECREASE in fentanyl coming into the U.S." Abigail Jackson, another White House spokeswoman, told Fox News Digital that "the drop in fentanyl seizures at the border is only a mystery to Washington Post reporters suffering from Trump-Derangement Syndrome." "As of March, fentanyl traffic at the Southern Border had fallen by more than half from the same time last year – while Joe Biden's open border was still terrorizing America," said Jackson. "Everyone else knows the simple truth: President Trump closed our border to illegal drug traffickers and Americans are safer because of it." The Washington Post did not immediately respond to a request by Fox News Digital for article source: Liberal news outlet mocked for reporting on 'mysterious' drop in fentanyl flowing across border
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
EPA, Park Service take big hits in latest Trump budget plan
The Trump administration's more detailed budget request seeks to decimate science, staffing and other programs at multiple environment-related federal agencies. Entities ranging from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the National Park Service (NPS) would see deep and specific cuts under the less 'skinny' version of the administration's budget that was released late Friday. The EPA sees a 35 percent cut to the payroll for its science staff and for staff who work on environmental programs and environmental management. NPS sees a 30 percent cut to its staff in charge of park system operations. Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sees a 28 percent cut to its operations, research and facilities staff payroll. But it's not just staff that takes a hit. A number of offices related to energy and environmental research, as well as disaster response, are reduced or eliminated under the proposal. It completely zeroes out NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, for example, and also cuts federal assistance at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by 32 percent. Science and technology activities at the EPA would see a 33 percent cut, while environmental programs and environmental management at the agency would see an 18 percent cut. And the Energy Department would also see a 13 percent cut to its science office. The budget document also proposes to 'wind down' the department's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which was established in the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bolster emerging energy technologies including hydrogen power, carbon capture, advanced nuclear reactors, and batteries. 'This sick joke of a budget is a nonstarter,' said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, in a written statement. 'In no way can America continue to lead if Trump continues his vendetta against the scientific enterprise. While Trump slashes budgets for American research and innovation, our adversaries, like China, are popping champagne. I will do everything I can to stand in the way of this ridiculous plan.' In previous years, a White House budget request has been taken as more of a signal of an administration's priorities than a roadmap that's likely to be realized since it's Congress, not the administration, that has the power of the purse. The Trump administration, however, has signaled that it is willing to go further to challenge that authority, already instituting massive layoffs at many agencies and gearing up for more. And White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said over the weekend that the administration would consider 'impoundment' to get its agenda across the finish line. It's not entirely clear how the budget would play out politically, as cuts to programs such as NPS have been historically unpopular. The administration's calls for cuts to FEMA have also been met with mixed reviews even within the GOP, although the budget proposal stops short of the administration's broader calls to eliminate FEMA entirely. The document released late Friday gives additional color to a less detailed 'skinny budget' previously released by the administration. The skinny budget also proposed big cuts at similar agencies. The White House has described the cuts as an effort to take on the 'Green New Scam,' saying in a fact sheet that 'President Trump is committed to eliminating funding for the globalist climate agenda while unleashing American energy production.' The previously announced document called for a 55 percent cut to the EPA's overall budget and a 31 percent cut to the Interior Department, which houses the Park Service. It also called for transferring certain national park 'properties' to the states. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
White House insists Medicaid policy won't cut people who deserve it
The White House plans to confront resistance to Medicaid cuts from Senate Republicans by arguing that any reductions in coverage would only affect people who didn't deserve it in the first place. A strong bloc of Republicans in the Senate has signaled that they are uncomfortable with Medicaid reductions in the sweeping tax-and-spending bill enacted last month by the House. President Donald Trump's advisers are determined to confront those concerns by claiming that cuts would chiefly target undocumented immigrants and able-bodied people who should not be on Medicaid, according to four administration officials and outside allies granted anonymity to discuss strategy. 'This bill will preserve and protect the programs, the social safety net, but it will make it much more common sense,' Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said Sunday. 'That's what this bill does. No one will lose coverage as a result.' The megabill would add work requirements to the program and bar undocumented immigrants from getting coverage, among other attempts to tighten eligibility. Those provisions are projected to leave roughly 7.6 million low-income people without health care over the next decade — losses that would amount to hundreds of billions of dollars in cost savings for the program. Contrary to Trump officials' claims, such cuts are widely anticipated to go beyond immigrants and the narrow slice of able-bodied unemployed, according to health experts. The provisions would likely add new layers of paperwork for low-income enrollees, making it more difficult for qualified recipients to stay on the program and pushing otherwise-eligible Americans suddenly out of health coverage. In a POLITICO interview published Sunday, Trump Medicaid chief Mehmet Oz argued the changes would 'future proof' the program, also insisting that "we're not cutting Medicaid." 'There's a lot of sensitivity about being accused, accused of not taking care of people who have disabilities or seniors without money or children,' Oz said. Trump officials have aggressively pushed that stance in public and private in recent days, insisting that the administration's plan will shield 'deserving' Medicaid recipients like the elderly and disabled, while targeting those who officials have cast as a drain on the nation's safety net. Many of those people gained coverage over the last decade through Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid. Republicans have been stung before by their efforts to enact health care cuts, most notably facing massive voter blowback in 2017 that cratered Trump's bid to repeal Obamacare and contributed to widespread losses in the following midterms. But Trump officials and allies argue that voters will support these changes to Medicaid, seeing them less as cuts than tweaks meant to ensure resources go to those who truly need it. 'Medicaid does not belong to people who are here illegally, and it does not belong to capable and able-bodied men who refuse to work,' said one of the White House officials. 'So no one is getting cut.' In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai said Trump would "protect and preserve Medicaid" by "kicking illegal immigrants off of the program and implementing commonsense work requirements," adding that Americans voted for such policies. The strategy represents a stark messaging shift for a GOP that has long found itself on the defensive in debates over health coverage. And it's an attempt by the White House to mirror the approach Trump has taken on other issues like immigration and trade, casting aside political complexities in favor of portraying them as a simple choice between 'us' and 'them.' Trump has framed his mass deportation campaign as an effort to rid the country of millions of immigrants deemed undeserving of staying in the U.S. He's justified his tariffs as a counter to other countries 'ripping us off' on trade. 'Before, they were taking things away from people,' Thomas Miller, a senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said of the health messaging shift. 'Now, they're saying they're not deserving.' In the Senate, Vought and White House legislative affairs chief James Braid have taken the lead in talks with Republican lawmakers, the White House official said. Trump has also dialed up a handful of senators over the last week, said another White House official granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy, ahead of a sprint in the Senate to pass its version of the megabill in a matter of weeks. The success of that effort could hinge on a handful of GOP senators who are skeptical of any Medicaid policies that could be interpreted as cuts, especially after the House added last-minute health care provisions into its bill that ballooned the predicted coverage losses. Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have expressed reservations about Medicaid work requirements, while some others have warned more generally about the prospect of cutting the program. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), perhaps the most outspoken Republican on the issue, said Monday in a post on X that Trump had assured him 'NO MEDICAID BENEFIT CUTS' will be in the bill. But rather than change course on policy, Trump officials and other Hill Republicans have instead signaled a preference for winning votes by redefining what qualifies as a cut. In a midday missive on Monday, the White House touted its push to remove roughly 1.4 million undocumented immigrants as key to strengthening Medicaid benefits 'for whom the program was designed — pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, low-income seniors, and other vulnerable low-income families.' That strident approach has prompted blowback from patient advocates and health industry groups across the spectrum, and even bewildered some Republicans who questioned the wisdom of making any changes to a program as politically delicate as Medicaid, especially in the red states of Trump's base. 'The fact remains that a great many Trump voters are on Medicaid, particularly in rural areas,' said GOP pollster Whit Ayres, adding it's unclear whether voters will buy Republicans' assertion that some cuts shouldn't qualify as actual cuts.'If no one loses coverage, how are you going to cut $500 billion?' Still, Trump aides remain confident they can bring both the Senate and the broader public around to their view. Much of the Medicaid-cautious contingent in the Senate — including Hawley — have already said they're okay with work requirements, drawing the line instead at broader funding cuts that might directly impact health providers and state budgets. The White House in the meantime has salivated over a fight with Democrats over coverage for undocumented immigrants, viewing it as another politically advantageous front in its immigration offensive. As for work requirements, Republicans pointed to polling that has consistently shown most Americans support them in theory — even despite the warnings about how it's likely to play out. 'It's a simple, clear message to say we're only taking away coverage from people who are not working,' said Miller. 'You don't get down to the granular details of, what does that actually mean in practice?' Megan Messerly and Ben Leonard contributed to this report.
