Clinical features of diabetes mellitus in Japan

The first Symposium on Diabetes Mellitus in Asia was held in Kobe, Japan, in 1970 and the second symposium in Kyoto, Japan, in 1975. These two symposia raised many questions. Participants from various countries compared their findings on the frequency of diabetes and its complications. Such comparisons are usually complicated because of the differences in diagnostic criteria used, the age groups compared, and duration of diabetes observed, etc. In spite of these problems, careful analysis and close comparisons may offer important clues as to the pathogenesis of diabetes and the factors related to its complications. Japanese and Caucasian diabetes have some differences resulting from the Japanese diabetic pathophysiologic, ethologic, and ecologic factors. In this paper, diabetes is discussed from an ecologic viewpoint, especially characteristics of the disease and its prognosis in relation to the complications and food habits in Japan.