Research ArticleOriginal ResearchA

Yield of Opportunistic Targeted Screening for Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Care: The Diabscreen Study

Erwin P. Klein Woolthuis, Wim J. C. de Grauw, Willem H. E. M. van Gerwen, Henk J. M. van den Hoogen, Eloy H. van de Lisdonk, Job F. M. Metsemakers and Chris van Weel
The Annals of Family Medicine September 2009, 7 (5) 422-430; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.997

The Article in Brief

Yield of Opportunistic Targeted Screening for Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Care: The Diabscreen Study

Erwin P. Klein Woolthuis , and colleagues

Background The American Diabetes Association recommends that high-risk adults be tested for diabetes. This study assessed the results of opportunistic targeted screening for type 2 diabetes in the primary care setting.

What This Study Found The yield of an opportunistic targeted screening program was fair: in 1year, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes was identified in 101 high-risk patients (2.7%). The yield of screening in low-risk patients was only 0.4%. Of the American Diabetes Association risk factors, obesity was the strongest predictor of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

Implications

  • Opportunistic screening for type 2 diabetes in primary care could target middle-aged and older adults with obesity.
  • These findings confirm a low yield in screening low-risk individuals for diabetes.

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