There are standard cases that any rational person would see taking the medication as a win. The most prescribed class of medication in the article is antihypertensized. Thiazides are a frontline intervention for hypertension. Thiazide's reduction in all-cause mortality is clinically significant(HR approx: 0.51).
> The risk of primary outcome events[all-cause mortality] was significantly lower in patients taking thiazides (model 1: HR 0.51 [95% CI, 0.36–0.72]; P=0.0002; model 2: HR 0.56 [95% CI, 0.38–0.83]; P=0.004; [1]
There are of course downsides to taking any medication or medical intervention, but a HR 0.51 in mortality is such a large reduction that the risks would need to be equally significant.
I'm not sure why diabetes should get any special treatment other than there is simply more public awareness of the risks of untreated diabetes. Are the HR reduction in all-cause mortality with insulin treatments above a particular threshold of importance? Does diabetes the primary cause of mortality in more patients than hypertension? Some other factor? Happy to hear some of the reasoning behind it.
1. Thiazide Use and Decreased Risk of Heart Failure in Nondiabetic Patients Receiving Intensive Blood Pressure Treatment https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7340223/