Blood pressure by age group in type 2 diabetics mellitus users of primary health care centres in Copiapó (Chile): a cross-sectional study

Diabetes mellitus is a serious worldwide public health problem due to its high prevalence. In Chile, 1.7 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, of which 90% are type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) cases (1) . It is well known that blood pressure (BP) control is essential to prevent future complications and to ensure a positive prognosis for this disease (2) . Moreover, studies in Chile have shown a significant increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) levels in T2DM subjects compared to the non-diabetic Chilean population (3) . Therefore, this study aimed to determine and compare SBP and DBP levels according to age group in T2DM patients of primary health care centres (PHCC) in Copiapó, Chile. Cross-sectional study within the CODIACO cohort. Data were collected from April to August 2023 on 161 patients with T2DM from eight PHCCs of Copiapó. Patients diagnosed with T2DM, of both sexes and aged between 30 and 65 years were included. Pregnant and lactating women, patients with diabetic neuropathy or nephropathy, cancer and severe inflammatory or infectious diseases were excluded. To estimate BP, three measurements were taken every five minutes. Three age groups were established: ≤ 50 (n = 36), 50-60 (n = 74) and ≥ 60 years old (n = 51). Blood pressure results were expressed as mean and standard deviation of mmHg unit. Normal distribution was analysed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test corrected for Lilliefors. In addition, the one-way ANOVA test was used to compare SBP and DBP between age groups. Bonferroni was used for post hoc testing. A P-value < 0.050 was considered statistically significant. Data were analysed using SPSS software. The study was conducted according to the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent modifications. The CODIACO study was approved by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee of the University of Atacama. The project was funded by FONDECYT N° 11180794 The mean of systolic blood pressure (SBP) for the ≤ 50, 50-60 and ≥ 60 year groups, was 123.92 ± 14.38; 133.23 ± 18.36; 135.88 ± 15.02 mmHg (p = 0.003); respectively. Bonferroni test indicated a significant difference in SBP between the group ≤50 and 50-60 (p = 0.019) and ≥60 year groups (p = 0.003), but not between 50-60 and ≥60 year groups (p = 1.000). The ANOVA did not show a significant difference in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between groups (p = 1.000). The results suggest that SBP levels of T2DM patients in PHCCs of Copiapó are higher in older age groups (50-60 and ≥60y) compared to the younger age group ≤50y). No significant differences were found in DBP.