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Pre-Diabetes Affects up to 1 in 3 Canadians, Often Without Them Knowing:
GTA Physicians Urge Public to Get off the Path to Diabetes

Southlake Regional Health Centre introduces a comprehensive pre-diabetes program to help reduce growing incidence of diabetes

Newmarket, November 22, 2007 - With November designated as Diabetes Month, a group of Greater Toronto Area (GTA) physicians is spreading the message that up to one in three Canadians suffers from pre-diabetes, and most of them don’t even know it. As a result, the doctors, diabetes specialists from Newmarket-based Southlake Regional Health Centre, are urging Toronto-area residents to have their blood sugar levels checked regularly.

“There are no symptoms associated with pre-diabetes, so the condition can easily go unnoticed,” said Dr. Sunil Juta, Endocrinologist at Southlake. “Yet, studies show that an early diagnosis and treatment of pre-diabetes – including losing five to 10 per cent of body weight and exercising about half an hour a day – can reduce the risk of developing actual diabetes by 58 per cent.”

Pre-diabetes is a condition in which a person’s blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not quite high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. In other words, it’s a diagnosis of ‘you don’t have diabetes… yet.’ Left unchecked, pre-diabetes often leads to full-blown type 2 diabetes – a lifelong disease. More than two million Canadians are currently diagnosed with diabetes, according to the Canadian Diabetes Association, and Southlake doctors estimate that the number of Canadians with pre-diabetes is about three to four times that amount.

With the condition growing in epidemic proportions, Southlake is introducing a hands-on pre-diabetes program that includes a multidisciplinary approach to care. As part of the initiative, individuals learn in small groups and one-on-one sessions over the course of a year, about everything from the implications of pre-diabetes and diabetes, to how to read food labels, to how to change eating habits and develop exercise routines to stay healthy. 

The team includes physicians, registered nurses, registered dietitians, social workers, and exercise experts. The sessions also address people’s emotions about their diagnosis – including denial, disbelief and fear.  A large focus is on exercising, and how to fit physical activity into busy schedules. Pedometers are provided to assist with behaviour changes, and mutual goal setting is also an integral part of the program. 

“The program is all about counting your chickens before they hatch, and making lifestyle changes to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes,” Dr. Juta explained. “If you have a 58 per cent chance of avoiding a disease like this by altering your behavior, those are pretty good odds,” he emphasized, adding that not all people with pre-diabetes develop diabetes, but rather, can revert back to normal levels of blood glucose with important lifestyle changes.

Pre-diabetes can be discovered by a routine blood glucose test. As a person ages, the risk of developing diabetes increases, so Southlake physicians emphasize that anyone over 40 years should be tested every three years. Anyone at higher risk – including those who are overweight and inactive, have a first-degree relative who has diabetes, are of Aboriginal, Hispanic, Asian, South Asian, or African descent, or have heart disease, schizophrenia, high blood pressure or high cholesterol – should be screened more frequently, and at a younger age.

“Rising levels of sugar in the blood, even at levels found in those with pre-diabetes, can have serious health consequences,” Dr. Juta said, explaining that those with pre-diabetes are at increased risk for developing complications associated with diabetes, such as heart disease.

“With the incidence of diabetes in Canada expected to hit three million by 2010, it’s important for the public to take this message seriously, now,” said Dr. Juta. “The place to start is with a simple blood test.”

About Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a disease which occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when a person’s body does not properly use the insulin it makes. A person’s body gets energy by making glucose, or sugar, from the foods he or she eats. To use this glucose, the body needs insulin, a hormone that helps the body control the level of glucose in the blood. If you have type 2 diabetes, glucose builds up in your blood instead of being used for energy. Common signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes include: unusual thirst, frequent urination, weight change, extreme fatigue or lack of energy, blurred vision, frequent or recurring infections, wounds that are slow to heal, and tingling or numbness in the hands or feet.

About Southlake Regional Health Centre
Southlake Regional Health Centre, based in Newmarket, Ontario., is a full-service hospital with a focus on cancer care, cardiac care, pediatric and perinatal care, child and adolescent eating disorders, and child and adolescent mental health care. Serving more than one million residents of York Region and South Simcoe, the hospital has recently broken ground for the construction of a $110 million state-of-the-art Regional Cancer Care Program, scheduled to open in mid-2009 and featuring the latest advances in patient care facilities and technologies, including the provision of radiation therapy for the first time in York Region.

For more information, or to set up interviews:
Andrea Crombie
Corporate Communications
905-895-4521, ext. 2169

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