Diabetes in the Americas1

Diabefes mellifus is an important cause of disabilify and death fhroughouf fhe Americas. Of the three main types (insulin-dependenf, noninsulin-dependent, and malnutrifion-related), virtually all cases in the Americas are eifher insulin-dependent (generally assessed in terms of incidence and usually occurring in subjects under 30) or noninsulin-dependent (generally assessed in terms of prevalence and usually occurring in subjects over 30). Data on noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellifus (NIDDM) in various parts of the Americas point to prevalences ranging from 1.4 % (among the Mapuche Indians in Chile) to 14.1% (among residents of Mexico City). However, the use of differenf methods and standards to gather and analyze these data renders comparison of the AJIDDM sifuations in differenf countries uncertain. A fair amount of comparable data on insulin-dependent diabetes mellifus (IDDM) have been gathered in various countries of the Region. These point to marked difierences in annual incidence-ranging from 0.7 cases per 100 000 in Peru to 27 among males on Prince Edward Island, Canada- that have not been adequately explained, underlining the need for additional comparable data