Clinical Diabetes: Imagination and Innovation

Forecasts are rarely sanguine.Diabetes incidence and preva-lence are projected to increase as the general population gets older, bigger, and more racially diverse. (Age, obesity, and ethnic background constitute three important risk factors for diabetes.) Diabetes will result in higher rates of blindness, amputation, dialysis, stroke, myocardial infarction, and death. Onset of complications will occur at an earlier age as type 2 diabetes extends its reach to younger individuals. The burden to 99CLINICAL DIABETES • Volume 24, Number 3, 2006 the individual and society will be enor-mous. Costs will soar. Moreover, primary care physicians