Introduction

摘要

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for roughly 80-90% of all cases of diabetes. The prevalence of T2DM is rising both in the UK and worldwide as a result of an ageing population, an increasingly sedentary lifestyle across communities, and a rise in the prevalence of obesity.1 Certain ethnic groups, foremost of which in the UK are South Asians, are at increased risk of developing T2DM. The disease is characterised by hyperglycaemia. It has a slow onset, with few or no symptoms initially, and is sometimes referred to, mistakenly, as 'mild diabetes'. However, it can lead to complications such as angina, cardiac failure, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, visual loss and renal failure. The TARDIS-2 report published in 2000 estimated that T2DM costs the NHS approximately ￡2B per annum, with an additional ￡36M spent on related social services and private health care. This equates to an annual expenditure of roughly ￡1738 per patient with T2DM.2