Epidemiology, clinical medicine and public health: at the interface

In today’s health-conscious world, ill health is no longer an inexplicable ‘act of God’, nor a punishment for wrong-doing nor an evil spell. The marriage of medicine and science, scarcely a century old, has revealed much about the causes of disease, how to treat it and, increasingly, how to prevent it. This is particularly valid for people with diabetes, a condition which, over the years, has prompted increased understanding and acquisition of knowledge. The disorder has been recognized and described almost since the written human record started.