ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus or diabetes is a serious chronic metabolic disorder that has a significant impact on the health, quality of life, and life expectancy of patients, as well as on the health-care system. In the USA, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death1. Diabetes is divided into two major categories: type 1 and type 2. The overall prevalence of diabetes is approximately 6%, of which 90% is type 2 diabetes2. Treatment and care of diabetes represents a substantial portion of the national healthcare expenditure. In 1992, for example, diabetes care cost 14.6% of every dollar spent on US health care3.
