by Mike B. – BASICS Online January 2010
Diabetes is a growing health epidemic that is alarmingly prevalent among working people. The Centre for Spatial Economics recently published a report called “Diabetes: A Brewing Economic Tsunami”, referring to the burden the disease will have on our health care system. An estimated 2.5 million Canadians currently suffer from this disease, up from 1.3 million in 2000. Diabetes rates will continue to rise dramatically over the next decade. By 2020, there will be as many as 3.7 million Canadians with diabetes, which means that more than 20 people will be diagnosed with this disease every hour.
Over 90% of diabetics have Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with poverty, as well as poor diet, aging, inactivity and obesity. Type 2 Diabetes occurs when the body can’t make or use insulin – a hormone that transforms glucose into energy for the body to use. The result is Hypoglycemia, a high level of glucose in the blood.
Although adults make up the majority of diabetes patients, more cases are being found in children. Many working people are forced to feed their families unhealthy, processed foods, which – due to economic globalization – are often cheaper and faster. Diabetes is also more prevalent in cities, due to both the stress of urban life and the lack of physical activity.
Most immigrants arrive in Canada healthier than the average Canadian, yet their health quickly declines once settled. Newcomers have some of the highest rates of diabetes, including South Asians, East Asians and Latinos. For example, in some South Asian communities, diabetes is 3 times more common amongst adults, while in the Afro-Caribbean community it is 2.5 times higher for men and 4 times higher for women.
Prevalence of diabetes amongst First Nations peoples is up to 5 times higher than in non-native populations, a result of poor food, high unemployment, lack of recreation facilities and poverty, says Dr. Murray Truesler, who has served remote communities for over 40 years. The National Aboriginal Diabetes Association recently reported to the UN that diabetes is a public health emergency amongst First Nations.
Diabetes can lead to severe complications, including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, blindness and amputation. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA), half of these complications can be prevented through treatment. Unfortunately, many cannot afford the cost of treatment, which can range from $1,000 to $15,000 a year.
The health care system clearly needs to be adjusted in order to meet the needs of all people, especially immigrants and workers who are most effected by this disease. However, improving our health requires real change: better wages and working conditions, access to affordable healthy food and more public recreational facilities. But these kinds of changes don’t fall out of the sky. They will only come as a result of people struggling to make our communities better, step by step.
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