Prevention of Diabetes Mellitus1

In the literature on the prevention of diabetes one finds attention drawn to the fact that heredity, race, and obesity are among the important factors that influence the development of this disease. If one could choose a mate with no diabetic taint in the family and not develop obesity the incidence of diabetes could be appreciably reduced. Strome and Blaine (1) point out that mortality rates from diabetes are higher in the United States than in any other major civilized country and that these are increasing every year. In 1933 the author (2) suggested that if one could diagnose diabetes before it became clinically apparent and could treat the disturbance successfully a considerable step forward in reducing the incidence and mortality of this disease would be achieved. The author has previously reported (3) that approximately 15 per cent of patients of college age having glycosuria on one examination would have some degree of disturbance of carbohydrate metabolism as judged by routine glucose tolerance tests.