Purpose of review: To examine the value of early detection of type 2 diabetes from the perspective of potential benefits and harms to the individual, and from the perspective of the health system.
Recent findings: Early detection of type 2 diabetes can be justified because diabetes is an important health problem, has a relatively long asymptomatic phase, interventions are available that have a proven beneficial effect on clinically meaningful outcomes and screening procedures are safe, acceptable and have adequate sensitivity and specificity. However, it remains controversial because of a lack of an established evidence base that detection earlier in the natural history of diabetes is indeed beneficial to individuals.
Summary: Although there are many reasons why the earlier detection of diabetes could be beneficial, the magnitude of any potential benefit of early detection and treatment has yet to be quantitated in a randomized controlled trial and this information will be available in 2010 when the Anglo-Danish-Dutch Study of Intensive Treatment and Complication reports its findings.