We examined the prevalence of orthostatic hypotension and its association with glycemic control, as assessed by hemoglobin A1 (HbA1) concentration, in type 2 diabetic patients. The prevalence of orthostatic hypotension in 886 diabetics who were referred to our study and in 587 diabetics who were not given any antihypertensive drugs was 7% and 6%, respectively. The relationship between orthostatic hypotension and HbA1 levels was evaluated only in subjects not receiving antihypertensive drugs, since antihypertensive agents might induce orthostatic hypotension. HbA1 levels were 11.0 +/- 2.1% in the diabetic patients with orthostatic hypotension, which was significantly higher than the HbA1 levels of 9.9 +/- 2.2% in the diabetic patients without orthostatic hypotension. Multivariate analysis also revealed that the association remained significant after adjustment for the treatment and duration of diabetes, age, sex and body mass index. These findings suggest that glycemic control contributes to the development of orthostatic hypotension in type 2 diabetic patients.