Long-term results in preventive medicine for type II diabetes.
The authors report the results of a 12-year screening for type II diabetes in their Health District (Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy). The method consisted of two steps, following Pavel and Sdrobici, for early diagnosis of clinical diabetes and IGT. The authors found 1.03% of clinical diabetes and 2.65% of IGT cases in the population examined (200,000 subjects). Statistically significant correlations existed with regard to the various risk factors (familiarity, obesity, fetal macrosomia, occupation). Follow-up after 6 years for IGT subjects showed a 25.5% return to normal of OGTT values, 21.7% improvement, 19% unchanged, 33.8% deterioration. There was a correlation between these results and life-style (diet, reduction in calorie intake, weight loss). Twelve years after these screenings, a 2.7% drop in incidence was observed for type II diabetes in this Health District.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D014505:Urban Population