Toward Prevention and Control of Type 2 Diabetes: Challenges at the U.S.-Mexico Border and Beyond1

Type 2 diabetes makes a compelling case study for public health action (1). The disease respects no boundaries. It is increasingly common — occurring in both developed and developing countries (2), in men and women, at earlier ages than in past decades, and in persons of every race and ethnic group, with a high prevalence in Hispanic/Latino Americans and in other minority groups, including nonHispanic blacks, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders (3). As noted by Martorell (4) and Saldaña (5), family history and genetic factors appear to further increase the risk for type 2 diabetes in Hispanic/Latino Americans. In the United States, the prevalence of diabetes was estimated to be 18.2 million people (6.3% of the population) in 2002 (3), with dramatic increases predicted in the future (6).