ABSTRACT

Thomas H Hostetter University of Minnesota, Director, National Kidney Disease Education Program, Senior Scientific Advisor, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, 6707 Democracy Blvd, Room 625, Bethesda, MD 20892, fax +1 301-480-3510

Primary prevention of diabetic nephropathy is probably possible with rigorous glucose and blood pressure control [1-3]. Indeed, many people at risk for type 2 diabetes could even prevent the development of diabetes [4, 5]. However, screening for diabetic renal disease falls within the scope of secondary prevention. The goal of such screening is not to prevent the appearance of renal damage but to detect it early enough that its course can be favorably deflected. Thus, at first approximation such screening has the same general goals as mammography for breast cancer or fecal occult blood detection for colon cancer.