Type II diabetes mellitus: no longer just adults.

Type II diabetes mellitus is no longer exclusively a disease of adults. Health care professionals and agencies must gain a better understanding of (1) the epidemiology of type II diabetes mellitus in childhood; (2) the phenotypic, biochemical, metabolic, and autoimmune characteristics at diagnosis and during the course of the disease; (3) therapeutic modalities; (4) screening of high-risk populations; and (5) prevention strategies. This will be one of the challenges in pediatric diabetes as we approach the 21st century.