: It is important to get a diagnosis so that diabetics can manage their blood sugar levels and limit the damage caused by the disease.
Photo Credit: Steve Yeater/Associated Press

One million people may have undiagnosed diabetes

Every hour, every day, 20 Canadians are diagnosed with diabetes. So far, 3.3 million Canadians have this serious chronic disease and it’s estimated another million have it, but don’t know.

‘A bit of an epidemic’

“There is a bit of an epidemic. There’s a bit of a tsunami that we’re seeing in terms of the number of cases,” says Paul Kilbertus, communications manager at the Canadian Diabetes Association. It’s projected that in ten years there will be 4.8 million diabetics in Canada. Numbers are also growing around the world.

ListenIt’s important for people to be diagnosed and to begin to manage the disease so they can avoid long-term complications like heart disease, nerve damage, kidney failure, amputation and blindness. Insulin is used to manage blood sugar levels in diabetics.

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A poster urges Canadians to assess their risk for diabetes by taking an online test devised by the Canadian Diabetes Association. © Canadian Diabetes Association

Canadian pioneered the use of insulin

Canadian Fredrick Banting studied the use of insulin in the 1920s and was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for his work. He was born in November 14, 1891 and the United Nations has now declared that day to be World Diabetes Day. In Canada, the entire the month is dedicated to raising awareness of the disease.

“Don’t Be Risky” is the name of a Canadian campaign to get people to take an online test to learn more about diabetes and determine their own risk. It asks about several risk factors including diet, waist size, heritage, exercise habits, and family incidence of diabetes.

In Canada, aboriginals, people of South Asian origins, and the poor are at greater risk.

Denial is a problem

“What we’ve seen and, unfortunately it’s the reality almost across the board, is people can even sometimes have those risk factors, they can even have some of the symptoms but there can be denial…” says Kilbertus.

“So it’s really important that people have the courage to take the risk assessment, find out, and do something about it because, yes, diabetes is a serious chronic disease but it’s not a death sentence. It’s something that can be managed.”
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