Epidemiology of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and its macrovascular complications. A basis for the development of cost-effective programs.

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is a major health problem in developed countries. The descriptive epidemiology of this disease and its cardiovascular complications are reviewed, and insulin resistance is identified as a common risk factor for both of them. The requirements for cost-effective programs to modify insulin resistance to prevent this disorder and its cardiovascular complications are discussed.