Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by chronic hyperglycemia due to insulin resistance of peripheral tissues (skeletal muscle, liver, adipose tissue) and insufficient compensatory insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells. Both insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction are thought to result from the complex interplay of many different pathways under the combined control of environmental and genetic factors. It is accepted that T2DM results from population aging and adverse environmental factors of the modern world which favor the development of obesity.
