title: [Diabetes mellitus: from clinical knowledge to public health concern].
abstract: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease whose prevalence is increasing worldwide. It remains associated with a high risk of severe complications, essentially micro- and macro-vascular complications. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease that leads to the destruction of insulin-secreting B cells and therefore requires an intensive optimised exogenous insulin therapy. Type 2 diabetes is a polygenic disease whose expression is favoured by inadequate lifestyle, leading to obesity. It combines a relative insulin secretory defect and insulin resistance, the latter being associated with various other cardiovascular risk factors. Treatment consists of lifestyle modifications first, then the prescription of various glucose-lowering oral drugs and finally, when requested, insulin therapy. A multi-risk intervention is mandatory to improve the cardiovascular prognosis. The prevention of diabetes and its complications is a major public health objective.
authors.affiliation: Service de Diabétologie, Nutrition et Maladies métaboliques, Département de Médecine, CHU Sart Tilman, Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgique. andre.scheen@chu.ulg.ac.be
authors.forename: André J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Scheen
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000145:classification / Q000628:therapy; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000628:therapy*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000628:therapy; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D005602:France; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health