Opportunistic screening for type 2 diabetes mellitus in public hospitals

To the Editor: Diabetes is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Australia, with 50% of cases remaining undiagnosed.1 Consequently, the Australian National Diabetes Strategy has early detection of diabetes as a key priority.2 We undertook a study to determine the prevalence of abnormal glucose metabolism (impaired fasting glycaemia [IFG] and diabetes) in patients presenting in the fasted state for endoscopy or colonoscopy at a metropolitan teaching hospital. We used the definitions of abnormal glucose metabolism outlined by the World Health Organization in 19993 and published in a position statement in the Journal in April 1999.4