ABSTRACT
Type 2 diabetes is a common chronic disease of global importance (see p. 12). Most patients (>85%) with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
The rate of increase of type 2 diabetes is such that there is effectively a global epidemic of it. The WHO estimated that 30 million people had diabetes in 1985; in 2011 the estimate was 366 million, and projections are that numbers will reach 552 million by 2030.
