Be Sure to Look for Secondary Diabetes

CONCLUSION 
Since the majority of patients with diabetes have T2DM, it is easy to “default” and start treating all patients as such, especially if they are overweight or obese. However, up to 5% of patients actually have underlying disease that may cause or worsen their diabetic status. Overlooking these rare conditions can be detrimental to the patient, as it will adversely affect not only glycemic control but more importantly, overall health. Identifying the underlying disease will allow the patient to receive appropriate treatment, which may offload a significant burden on glycemic control and in some cases, cure the hyper­glycemia.

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