Acceptance of new criteria for diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and related conditions by the Canadian Diabetes Association.

The National Diabetes Data Group (NDDG) of the National Institutes of Health in the United States has recently issued a report setting guidelines for the classification and diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and other forms of glucose intolerance. The report, intended to provide a uniform basis from which clinical and epidemiologic studies could be planned, and to serve as a guide for clinicians, is committed to the concept of avoiding overdiagnosis of diabetes and consequently expands the proportion of patients classified as having impaired glucose tolerance. The clinical and scientific section of the Canadian Diabetes Association has accepted the report in principle, anticipating that it may need to be modified in the light of future clinical experience and research findings. It is recommended that the NDDG and the expert committee of the World Health Organization be informed of this position and that the Canadian Diabetes Association offer to contribute to what will likely be periodic revision of the classification.