Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2012 May-Jun;67(5-6):326-31.

[Type 2 diabetes: journey in the heart of a complex disease]

[Article in French]
Affiliations
  • PMID: 22891486
Free article
Review

[Type 2 diabetes: journey in the heart of a complex disease]

[Article in French]
A J Scheen et al. Rev Med Liege. 2012 May-Jun.
Free article

Abstract

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is rapidly growing worldwide and this metabolic disease nowadays represents a major public health concern. Besides the effects of aging, such a progression results from the interaction of several phenomena among which (1) a rather common genetic (polygenic) predisposing pattern, (2) epigenetic mechanisms, at least partially linked to nutritional disturbances during gestation influencing fetal programming, and especially, (3) a deleterious societal environment promoting the development of obesity by giving free access to excess food (rich in calories, sucrose and lipids) and markedly limiting spontaneous physical activity, or exposing to pollutants that could exert a toxic effect on the B cell. Such an obesogenic environment, already present in young age, leads to an epidemics of "diabesity". A better knowledge of the natural history of type 2 diabetes opens perspectives for the prevention of this complex disease. When type 2 diabetes is already present, a global therapeutic approach targeting environment by the promotion of lifestyle changes and the correction of all risk factors is mandatory to reduce the incidence of complications, essentially cardiovascular diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by