Contribution to the early diagnosis of diabetes mellitus.

The authors present the results of an investigation for diabetes mellitus (DM), in a selected group of 9,901 persons at high risk for the disease, using oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). In the group investigated they included 4,753 diabetic blood relatives, 4,123 obese patients and 935 women who delivered big babies. The percentage of diagnosed DM was 30.58 for the entire group, with variations between: 39.47 in the obese, 27.27 in women with macrosomia, and 23.35% in the diabetic blood relatives. The results showed the value of OGTT as a diagnostic tool, the importance of early diagnosis and the necessity of careful long time follow-up of the newly diagnosed diabetics.