Context: With increasing globalization and East-West exchanges, the increasing epidemic of type 2 diabetes in Asia has far-reaching public health and socioeconomic implications. Objective: To review recent data in epidemiologic trends, risk factors, and complications of type 2 diabetes in Asia. Evidence Acquisition: Search of MEDLINE using the term diabetes and other relevant keywords to identify meta-analyses, systematic reviews, large surveys, and cohort studies. Separate searches were performed for specific Asian countries.
The review was limited to English-language articles published between January 1980 and March 2009; publications on type 1 diabetes were excluded. Evidence Synthesis: The prevalence of diabetes in Asian populations has increased rapidly in recent decades. In 2007, more than 110 million individuals in Asia were living with diabetes, with a disproportionate burden…
