The Epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Adolescents

摘要

The worldwide prevalence of type 2 diabetes is expected to increase in the next two decades and the adult diabetic population in China is projected to reach 46 million by 2025.¹ Type 2 diabetes mellitus has conventionally been described as a chronic disease of overweight middle-aged adults and the elderly but there is now evidence that this disease in also becoming more prevalent in children and adolescents of developed and developing countries.^1-5 The article by Huen et al⁶ in this issue is a timely reminder that Hong Kong has not been spared from this epidemic. This emerging epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus can have significant financial and societal consequences and a prompt public health response is warranted.