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The Burden of Diabetes in Canada
Diabetes is recognized as a public health problem of potentially enormous proportions. It is one of the world's most serious health problems since it is estimated the number of people with diabetes will reach 300 million by 20251. Over 1 million Canadians have been diagnosed with diabetes, and it is estimated that there are a further 750,000 people with diabetes in Canada who are unaware of their condition2.
Diabetes is ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in Canada, and it accounted for approximately 25,000 potential years of life lost due to premature death in 1996. The actual number of deaths for which diabetes is a contributing cause is estimated to be five times as high as current figures indicate and will increase exponentially over the next 10 years if current trends continue3.
A person with diabetes incurs medical costs that are two to five times higher than a person without diabetes. The fact that those with diabetes use more health care services is not surprising since diabetes is unique in that it can often lead to a wide range of other illnesses including kidney failure, heart disease, blindness, amputations, nerve damage and depression. The Economic Burden of Illness in Canada, released by health Canada in November of 2002, estimates that in 1998 diabetes accounted for over $200 million in annual hospital costs, over $180 million in prescription and non-prescription drug costs and long-term disability costs of over $500 million annually.
1 World Health Organization, Fact Sheet No. 138, April 2002.
2 Statistics Canada
3 Health Canada, Diabetes in Canada: National Statistics and Opportunities for Improved Surveillance, Prevention and Control, 1999.
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