Diabetes in the tropics.

Diabetes is no longer a rare disease syndrome in the tropics, and in many parts it is being diagnosed with increasing fre quency. Improved medical supervision, a greater awareness of the disease among the general population, and the improved life expectancy account for the increasing number of patients with recognized diabetes. These changes have occurred to a greater extent and at a faster rate in the towns and cities, and consequently the upward trend in the incidence of diabetes is more striking in hospital practice in the urban areas than in the rural districts. Other factors, such as change in dietary habits, may also play a part, but it is more difficult to establish the role of these as a cause of the increased incidence.