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OBJECTIVE: To determine if there is any association between glycemia and blood pressure in black patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus whose antihypertensive medications had been unchanged for six months. DESIGN: Retrospective, from March 1990 through February 1991. SETTING: Internal medicine ambulatory clinic at Detroit Receiving Hospital/University Health Center. PATIENTS: Patients seen during this period with hypertension and type II diabetes. Of the 639 possible subjects, 124 met the following criteria: (1) no change in antihypertensive medications for six months, (2) absence of secondary hypertension, and (3) weight change (if any) was less than five percent. Changes in antihypertensive medication(s) excluded 388 patients, secondary hypertension excluded 3, weight changes of more than five percent excluded 94, and lack of matching postprandial capillary blood glucose (PCBG) values excluded 30. The mean age of the subjects was 66.8 years, mean diabetes duration was 12.0 years, mean PCBG was 10.7 mmol, mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 154.3 mm Hg, mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 90.1 mm Hg. There were 28 men in the study and 96 women; 90 were obese (body mass index >25 kg/m2) and 34 were nonobese. The diabetes was managed with insulin in 67 patients, with sulfonylureas in 50, and with diet in 7. intervention: None MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SBP and DBP versus PCBG at matching times both at baseline and at six months. RESULTS: There was a positive association between blood pressure measurements and glycemia. Overall change in SBP was strongly correlated with PCBG changes (r=0.745, pCONCLUSIONS: Glycemia is positively associated with blood pressure.