Diabetes mellitus and lifestyle in a north Italian population

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus shows an enormous variability between different countries and even within the same country [l-4]. While part of these differences can be accounted for by a number of different methodological factors, they also reflect real genetic and environmental dtierences. ‘Diabetes Epidemiology Research International’ has recently emphasized the latter, stating that ‘the challenge for the next decade is to track down the environmental agent(s) because this is likely to be the best strategy for preventing diabetes’ [ 51. This is a formidable task in which epidemiological investigation can demonstrably provide a major contribution. In Italy wide dilferences have been reported in the rate of occurrence of some diseases according to latitude and hence