Belleville Intelligenger -
Diabetes cases outstrip local population growth

By Barry Ellsworth - Friday, July 20, 2007 -

Cases of diabetes have outstripped the population growth in southeastern Ontario, says a new report by Toronto's Institute of Clinical Evaluation Sciencs.

Between 1996 and 2006, the population aged 20 and over grew by approximately eight per cent, while the number of individuals diagnosed with diabetes jumped by 72 per cent.

"The data in the ICES report will be flags for many of our health care providers in the south east region," said Paul Huras, chief executive officer of the local health integration network.

The organization controls the pursestrings for most health care funding in this area. Its territory extends from Brighton east along Lake Ontario, including Belleville, to around Prescott, up to Perth and Bancroft and south in Prince Edward County.

Health officials will try to increase education and treatment to combat the diabetic epidemic.

"Ultimately, diabetes treatment is a combination of self-management and good clinical care," Huras said. "One of the best impacts that the health system can have is to make sure that people have access to the information, tools and care they need to best manage their condition."

However, while diabetes is a diabolical disease that can have many repercussions such as blindness, heart disease and kidney damage, Huras said some factors may make it look worse than it actually is. "The increase in reported cases may mean that more individuals and physicians are testing for type 2 diabetes than was the case 10 years ago," Huras said in a statement.

"Also, we have the largest percentage of older people of any region in Ontario, and since type 2 diabetes is associated with aging, this may be a factor."

With type 2 diabetes, some insulin is produced and the disease can often be controlled by careful food choices and exercise, since obesity is a large factor in developing the disease. Aboriginals are particularly at risk and it is a problem on Tyendinaga Territory, health officials said.

With type 1 diabetes, the body produces no insulin and victims must take injections to maintain blood sugar levels.

Huras said to put the picture into context, it's important to note that the rate of new diabetic cases has levelled off in recent years and is now below the rate of new cases in other parts of the province.

Here's the picture by the numbers for South Eastern Ontario:

Of those 65 years and older, at least 15 out of 100 women and 19 out of 100 men had diabetes (types 1 and 2) in 2000.

For the same period, in the 54-60 age group, nine out of 100 women and 12 out of 100 men had the disease.

In 1995-96, the population over 20 was almost 340,000, with 17,663 diagnosed with diabetes. In 200-05, the population had grown to about 367,000 while the numbers with diabetes increased to about 30,300, a jump of 72 per cent.

Diabetes can also be a very expensive disease. The cost of needles and test strips can run $100 a month, while as the illness progresses and more medications are required, costs can exceed $900 a month, said Dorothyanne Brown of the North Kingston Community Health Centre. It is not always covered by insurance and government programs.

Until the discovery of insulin by Canadians Fred Banting, Charles Best and James MacLeod in the early 1920s, type 1 diabetes was almost always fatal.

More than 2 million Canadians today are thought to have diabetes.

(bellsworth@intelligencer.ca)