PREVALENCE AND INCIDENCE OF DIABETES-MELLITUS BY WHO CRITERIA

The recent data on the prevalence and incidence of diabetes mellitus i n Japan are presented. The data were obtained in 1989-1992 based on th e 1985 WHO criteria. The prevalence and incidence for childhood IDDM ( 0-18 years) were chiefly derived from the records of patients who rece ived free medical care for diabetes. The prevalence was 10-15 per 1000 00 and incidence was 1.2-2.0 per 100000 in most regions of Japan, Ther e is no increasing tendency from south to north. The prevalence of dia betes (mostly NIDDM) in the population aged 40 years or older studied using the 75 g oral glucose tolerance test ranged from 4 to 12%. Men w ere affected more frequently than women in most areas. There are probl ems with the data on the incidence of NIDDM obtained so far. The natio n-wide survey of HbA(1c) suggests about a 2-fold difference in abnorma lly high HbA(1c) in different regions of Japan.