Screening for type 2 diabetes

The number of people with diabetes has risen sharply in recent years. Major causes are the problems of overweight and the ageing population. In 2002 around 408,000 people with diabetes were known to general practitioners in the Netherlands. In a number of groups, diabetes is more prevalent than in the population as a whole. This applies, for example, in the case of certain ethnic groups (such as Hindustanis, Turks and Moroccans), overweight people and people with diabetes in the family. However, the increase in the number of registered cases of diabetes also stems from greater vigilance on the part of doctors especially general practitioners, who consequently recognise earlier that someone has diabetes or pre-diabetes (where blood glucose levels are already elevated).