Diabetes mellitus is a recognized cause of secondary dyslipidemia, and is also independently considered to be a major cardiovascular risk factor requiring aggressive lipid-lowering treatment. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 85% to 90% of diabetes worldwide. It affects about 2% of the Caucasian population in most Westernized countries, and the prevalence rises with age to 10% in those over 70 years of age. Five percent or more of young- and middle-aged adults in some Asian or Afro-Caribbean groups in the United Kingdom have this condition. Approximately 12 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, and an estimated 20 million more have some degree of glucose intolerance. The greatest cause of mortality in type 2 diabetes is atherosclerotic vascular disease and its sequelae between 75% and 80% of adult subjects with diabetes die of macrovascular complications.