Long term impact of screening for type 2 diabetes mellitus - a commentary on new evidence.

Commentary: Despite fulfilling many of the criteria for a screening programme, population-based screening for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) continues to be the focus of debate, chiefly concerning the balance of benefits against harms.1–3 This paper contributes by analysing the long-term impact of a single round of population-based screening on three key outcomes: (1) cardiovascular morbidity—which modelling data suggests could be reduced by screening; (2) self-rated health—an independent predictor of morbidity and mortality and (3) health-related behaviour—particularly the potential for continued engagement in ‘unhealthy’ behaviours from false reassurance following a negative screening test.