Epidemiology of type 2 diabetes in Taiwan

In the face of the growing worldwide prevalence of type 2 diabetes, effecti ve methods of preventing further increases in prevalence are needed. In thi s paper, we review the community-based epidemiologic studies of diabetes in Taiwan published during the last decade, and look at the effectiveness of a two-stage screening protocol for identifying subjects at risk for progres sion to type 2 diabetes. The results of these studies indicate that the age -adjusted prevalence rate of undiagnosed diabetes in Taiwan is stable, at a round 4.0%, while the annual incidence rate is about 1.8%. The results of s everal studies strongly suggest that a two-step screening strategy, in whic h only subjects with a fasting plasma glucose level of 5.6-7.8 mmol/l recei ve the oral glucose tolerance test, may be an effective means of identifyin g diabetics and persons at high risk for progression to type 2 diabetes and , ultimately, slowing the increase in the prevalence of this disease. (C) 2 001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.