What’s New
Click here to access our 2009 Alberta Diabetes Atlas, released on November 12, 2009. The Atlas contains information on the number of people living with diabetes in Alberta, their related health conditions, and the health services they use. New sections include: health care utilization costs of diabetes to the health system, as well as epidemiological trends for children and adolescents.
Click here to view our latest newsletter entitled ‘Health Care Costs for Children and Adults with Diabetes by Alberta Health Zone ’. In it, we have profiled health care costs for people with diabetes across Alberta's five health zones.
The Public Health Agency of Canada recently announced that the ADSS team will receive a second year of funding to continue its active dissemination efforts. The ADSS team's activities include providing primary care network visits, community specific data for evaluation and planning, and continued development of its interactive website, which will launch later this year.
We have recently created a figure that highlights diabetes prevalence in different Alberta communities. It’s interesting to note the Alberta communities with the highest and lowest prevalence. Click here to see more.
Information about Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic disease affecting more than 5% of Canadians over
20 years of age.
It is a serious and growing public health concern in Canada, where healthcare
costs of
patients with diabetes are projected to be in excess of $6 billion in 2006.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic health condition that is associated
with increased
morbidity and early mortality. Although there are different types of diabetes,
administrative data such as data used for the NDSS and ADSS is presently
unable to distinguish between them. It is still important, however, to
recognize the different disease processes in order to assess the overall
burden.
When someone has diabetes, it means that their body has difficulty making insulin and/or using the insulin that they produce. This is problematic because insulin is required to move glucose into cells so that it can be used by body tissues and organs. When glucose remains in the blood, blood glucose levels can rise to dangerously high levels and result in acute complications. Higher than normal blood glucose levels also can result in long-term organ damage and affect the eyes, kidneys and cardiovascular system.
Type 1 diabetes usually occurs early in life during childhood or adolescence. An organ called the pancreas is unable to produce insulin. This is why individuals with type 1 diabetes need to inject insulin several times a day. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5-10% of all diabetes cases. Type 2 diabetes is usually associated with onset after 30-40 years of age; however during the past decade, type 2 diabetes has become much more prevalent in younger individuals. This is thought to be associated with lifestyle factors including physical inactivity and obesity. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or the body does not properly use the insulin it makes. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95% of all diabetes cases. Gestational diabetes occurs only in pregnant women. It is a form of glucose intolerance which usually disappears after six weeks postpartum. There is evidence to suggest that women with gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Physical activity and a healthy diet are indicated for all individuals with diabetes. As stated above, regular insulin injections are required for people with type 1 diabetes while those who have type 2 diabetes can sometimes be managed with exercise and diet alone. Depending on the severity of the disease, certain people who have type 2 diabetes may also need oral antidiabetic agents (e.g., pills) or even insulin to better control their blood glucose levels.
Links
Prevention of Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes, commonly referred to as adult onset diabetes, is largely associated with lifestyle factors such as being overweight, inactivity and having a poor diet. Before a formal diagnosis of diabetes, a physician may indicate that you have pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance) and are at risk of developing diabetes in the near future. Although the ADSS cannot differentiate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes at this time, we know that both are increasing, and that type 2 diabetes (90-95% of all diabetes) is increasing at an alarming rate in developed, westernized countries. This epidemic of diabetes largely parallels the worldwide increase of obesity in the past few decades.
The good news is that by modifying lifestyle factors, such as increasing your physical activity level and making positive changes to your diet, you may delay or prevent type 2 diabetes from developing. There are also certain drugs that may help in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.
Treatment of Diabetes:
Prevention and Management of Complications
Once an individual is diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to reduce the risk of other comorbidities or complications that exist together with, or as a result of diabetes. People with diabetes are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, eye disease and neuropathies that can lead to limb amputation. Treatment, or sometimes called “secondary prevention”, is important to prevent or manage these comorbidities.
Some indicators for proper diabetes management include:
- Regular blood tests such as A1C, cholesterol and kidney function
- Good blood pressure control
- Proper weight management with adequate physical activity and a healthy diet
- Yearly eye exams
- Regular neuropathy and foot exams
- Smoking cessation
- Vaccinations