Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide health problem, but prevalence rates vary greatly between different societies and ethnic groups. In the industrialized nations, such as the USA and those of western Europe, the prevalence is approximately 2% among young adults and 15% in those aged over 65 years; but in developing countries the disease is less common, with overall rates averaging 1%. It is likely, for reasons that will become clear, that improved economic conditions and longer life expectancy will markedly raise the number of people with diabetes beyond the 100 million presently estimated.
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Further reading
Mann, J. L., Pyorala, K. and Teuscher, A. (1983) Diabetes in Epidemiological Perspective, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh.
Levin, M. E. (1982) Diabetes: the geriatric difference Geriatrics37(12) 41–45.
Hindson, D. A. (1984) Diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus in Drug Treatment in the Elderly (ed. R. E. Vestal) Adis Health Science Press, Sydney.
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© 1990 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Martin, B.J., Knight, P.V. (1990). Epidemiology and Pathophysiology. In: Kesson, C.M., Knight, P.V. (eds) Diabetes in Elderly People. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3322-5_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3322-5_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-32870-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-3322-5
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