Abstract
In Japan, there are approximately 9,500,000 people in whom the possibility of diabetes mellitus cannot be denied and another 11,100,000 people who are suspected of having diabetes mellitus. Once complications of diabetes progress in a patient, an elevated risk of loss of vision as well as loss of renal function leading to dialysis are inevitable. Strategies to prevent the deterioration of diabetes mellitus include: 1) reduction in the incidence of diabetes by intervention, 2) early diagnosis of the disease and avoiding examinees being left untreated, 3) reducing the number of patients who drop out from medical institutions, and 4) keeping good glycemic control.
