Local

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Report warns of diabetes epidemic

Group calls for action to deal with disease

By: Doug Speirs

Posted: 04/5/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

ONE in three Canadians will be living with diabetes or at high risk of developing the disease by the end of the decade unless governments do more to stem the epidemic, a national report released Monday warns.

"Canadians recognize that diabetes is at epidemic proportions and will impact future generations yet governments are not responding in equal measure," Michael Cloutier, president of the Canadian Diabetes Association, said from Toronto.

The association's report, Diabetes: Canada at the Tipping Point -- Charting a New Path, warns Canada is not adequately prepared to manage the burden of diabetes, the country's fastest-growing chronic disease.

The health and economic crisis stems from an explosion in Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, affecting nine out of 10 Canadian diabetics.

Blamed largely on an aging population and rising obesity rates, diabetes is already exacting a staggering human toll. It is the leading cause of blindness, amputations and kidney failure, and can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

The report states the number of confirmed diabetics in Canada is expected to rise from 2.7 million cases (7.6 per cent of the population) to 4.2 million cases (10.8 per cent of the population) by 2020. An additional one million Canadians are believed to have undiagnosed diabetes.

After factoring in the number of pre-diabetics, whose blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes, 11.7 million people, one in three Canadians, are expected to be impacted by the disease by 2020. One in four Canadians live with diabetes, undiagnosed diabetes, or pre-diabetes.

The association's figures show as many as 50 per cent of those with pre-diabetes will develop the disease, and long-term complications often begin before the disease is diagnosed.

In Manitoba, the number of diabetics is forecast to rise 48 per cent by 2020, to over 139,000 cases from 94,000. Manitoba, which has the highest rate of diabetes on the Prairies, is at risk partly because of higher rates of obesity, and partly because it has the highest concentration of Aboriginal Canadians, 15.47 per cent, in Canada.

Aboriginal Canadians are three to five times more likely than the general population to acquire Type 2 diabetes.

In issuing the report, the association called on the federal and provincial governments to do more to stem the tide of diabetes and provide more support for those already living with the disease. A full 80 per cent of the costs associated with diabetes stem from the downstream complications, not the disease itself.

The diabetes advocacy group agrees governments have made some progress, but those steps have been dwarfed by the growing burden of the disease and its effects, which lead to the deaths of an estimated 72,000 Canadians annually.

Manitoba earned praise, for example, for providing the most extensive coverage for diabetes medications in Canada. Of the 23 medications recommended by Health Canada, the cost of 10 is covered in Manitoba.

An opinion poll released with the report suggests Canadians are gravely concerned about the threat posed by Type 2 diabetes, traditionally considered an adult disease but which is being diagnosed in a growing number of children.

The online poll found 72 per cent of respondents want governments to spend more on programs and services to prevent and manage diabetes.

It was conducted Jan. 25-31 by Environics Research among 1,004 Canadians who have never been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes, as well as 881 people living with diabetes and 128 with pre-diabetes.

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca

Other findings:

41 per cent believe their children or children they may have in the future are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes;

90 per cent believe diabetes is threatening the future of the health system;

62 per cent said diabetes is hurting the Canadian economy;

78 per cent of those with Type 2 diabetes fear developing serious health complications, such as heart disease, while one in three confessed there are situations where they would hesitate to reveal they have diabetes.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 5, 2011 A2

Factual inaccuracy? Something missing? Help improve our journalism.

Know about news? Share your story suggestions, photos and video.

Spelling error? Punctuation problem? Send us an email if you’ve found a typo.

More Local

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.