[The possibility of preventing non-insulin dependent diabetes]

High and rapid growing up incidence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) leading to severe chronic complications and significant reduction of life expectancy, as well as a huge rise of direct and indirect costs connected with the disease oblige to search for methods of its prevention. Scientific basis of the prevention grounded on a knowledge of genetic and environmental pathogenetic factors as well as natural history of NIDDM does exist. The article discussed shortly the strategy of prevention based on attempts of life style (diet, physical exercise) and pharmacological interventions. Actually, primary prevention of NIDDM seems to be hypothesis requiring further testing, but the possibility and necessity of secondary and tertiary prevention is incontroversible.