Aims We assessed blood pressure (BP) and blood glucose (BG) values in healthy subjects, and examined baseline BP as a predictor of incident prediabetes during follow-up. Methods Participants in the Pathobiology of Prediabetes in a Biracial Cohort (POP-ABC) study underwent screening assessments (anthropometry, BP, OGTT) and were stratified into normal BP (NBP), prehypertension, or hypertension, and normal glucose regulation (NGR), prediabetes (IFG/IGT), or type 2 diabetes (T2D) status. NGR subjects who met all inclusion criteria were enrolled in a 5-yr prospective study, with the primary outcome of incident prediabetes. Results We screened 602 adults (341 black, 261 white) and enrolled 343 (193 black, 150 white) for prospective follow-up. Systolic and diastolic BP correlated significantly with fasting and nonfasting BG (P = 0.003–< 0.0001). Compared to NGR group, more prediabetic subjects had prehypertension (42.5% vs. 36.2%) and fewer had NBP (35.9% vs. 48.6%) (P = 0.009). During ~ 5 years of follow-up, 26.3% of NBP and 35.7% of prehypertensive subjects developed prediabetes (P = 0.02). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed higher probability of incident prediabetes among participants with prehypertension compared to NBP during ~ 5 years of follow-up (P = 0.0012). Conclusions In our biracial cohort, BP and BG values were significantly correlated, and BP status predicted incident prediabetes among initially normoglycemic individuals. These findings suggest co-evolution of factors involved in the dysregulation of BP and BG.
