Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System, Glucose Homeostasis, and Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes: Mechanistic Insights and Evidence from Major Clinical Trials

Abstract

With its alarmingly rising prevalence worldwide, type 2 diabetes has become a leading cause of morbidity and mortality around the planet. Efforts to prevent progression to diabetes in individuals at risk could have a significant positive public health impact. Multiple trials examining cardiovascular outcomes of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS) inhibitors revealed, in secondary analysis, a significantly reduced risk of new onset diabetes in participants receiving these agents. This glycemic protective effect is attributed to the known implication of RAAS in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The DREAM trial and the NAVIGATOR trial were two large randomized controlled studies examining, as primary outcome, the effect of Ramipril and Valsartan respectively on the incidence of diabetes in patients with prediabetes. Their results confirmed a favorable glycemic effect of RAAS inhibition agents and suggested a possible added benefit of diabetes prevention to their other several cardiovascular and blood pressure benefits.