Editorial

Be active, not passive,
with how you screen
for type 2 diabetes

We can do a better job of uncovering the likely significant number of our patients whose diabetes has gone undiagnosed, at their peril

Editor in Chief
ROBERT.BARBIERI@QHC.COM

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major health problem, affecting approximately 8% of women in the United States. Furthermore, approximately 25% of people who have diabetes have not been given the diagnosis.¹ From 19 years of age upward, type 2 DM is one of the top 10 causes of death in women.²

Early diagnosis and treatment of type 2 DM can prevent vascular disease and might help reduce premature morbidity and death, but active screening for diabetes has not been emphasized routinely in ObGyn training and care, except during pregnancy. Because the prevalence of diabetes is increasing rapidly—doubling over the past 30 years, in fact³—ObGyns play a central role in effective population screening for diabetes.