DM in the future. In fact, approximately 40% of women that develop gestational DM

during pregnancy develop Type II DM within 15 years of the pregnancy [12].


 18-
 17-
 16-
 15-
 14-
 13-
 12-
 11-
 .10o. Numbers of
 9 Cases of
 Diabetes
 7-
 6-
 5-

 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

 year


Figure 1-1: Number of Persons with All Forms of Diagnosed Diabetes, United States,
 1980-2000, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for
 Health Statistics, Division of Health Interview Statistics, data from the
 National Health Interview Survey [2].

 As alarming as the rise in the numbers of diagnosed cases, there are many people

who do not even know that they have the disease. There are currently 18.2 million people

in the United States, or 6.3% of the population, who have diabetes [1, 2]. While an

estimated 13 million have been diagnosed, 5.2 million people are unaware that they have

the disease [1, 2].

 Disease Diagnosis

 There are two different tests that are used in diabetes: screening tests and diagnostic

tests. Screening tests are done on people who have no symptoms of the disease.

Diagnostic tests are done to confirm a diagnosis that is already suspected from the