BMJ 2001;323:453 ( 25 August )

Letters

Screening for type 2 diabetes

    Undiagnosed diabetes must be detected
    Population screening was not effective in former East Germany
    Screening would have important resource implications for primary care
    Authors' reply

Undiagnosed diabetes must be detected

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Early identification of type 2 diabetes is vital for the future of diabetes care, in terms of reducing the impact both on the individual and on NHS resources. Wareham and Griffin question the need for a screening programme because the benefits of early detection and treatment of undiagnosed diabetes have not been proved.1 There is evidence, however, of the cost of treating the complications of diabetes, and the United Kingdom prospective diabetes study has indicated how to reduce the risk of those complications through intensive treatment. Surely in the new, patient focused NHS, this evidence makes a compelling argument for providing that intervention as early as possible.

The authors suggest that clinical management of people in whom diabetes has already been diagnosed should be optimised before a screening programme is considered. This is unacceptable. Shouldn't everyone in the United Kingdom have an equal chance of effective treatment from the . . . [Full text of this article]
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Relevant Article

Should we screen for type 2 diabetes? Evaluation against National Screening Committee criteria
Nicholas J Wareham and Simon J Griffin
BMJ 2001 322: 986-988. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Icks, A., Haastert, B., Gandjour, A., John, J., Lowel, H., Holle, R., Giani, G., Rathmann, W. (2004). Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Different Screening Procedures for Type 2 Diabetes: The KORA Survey 2000. Diabetes Care 27: 2120-2128 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Broom, D. H (2003). Familiarity breeds neglect? Unanticipated benefits of discontinuous primary care. Fam Pract 20: 503-507 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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