ABSTRACT
The devastating social and economic consequences of diabetes mellitus are recognised worldwide. There has been an explosion in the number of cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) witnessed both in developed and developing nations, particularly in certain ethnic groups. The incidence rates of the less common type 1 diabetes (T1DM) vary greatly between countries. T1DM has a male preponderance. Diabetes is defined as a group of metabolic disorders (although T1DM has an autoimmune aetiology) characterised by the presence of hyperglycaemia caused by defects in insulin action, insulin secretion or both and associated with amyriad of specific chronic complications. The diagnosis is made by measurement of plasma glucose in the presence of typical diabetic symptoms or by conducting an oral glucose tolerance test when doubt exists. The term diabetes mellitus encompasses a group of disorders of different causation, some with an identifiable genetic association, and includes T1DM, T2DM, gestational diabetes, maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) and various other rarer subtypes as described in this chapter.
