CURBING AN EPIDEMIC
Prevention is the only cure for type 2 diabetes
“Underestimating diabetes can be highly dangerous. Its implications and complications reach from head to toe and may significantly affect both quality of life and longevity,” says Jan Hux, physician and chief science officer with Diabetes Canada. “Understanding individual risk factors and early testing are the best ways to prevent a diagnosis because at this time, prevention is the only cure.”
That is a lesson Brent Galardo of Toronto wishes he had learned sooner.
“For years I was feeling the symptoms but thought it was just a normal part of the aging process,” he says. “They came and went so I didn’t really think there was any- thing to be concerned about.”
It wasn’t until an emergency took him to the hospital that his diabetes was diagnosed. It turned out the dizzy spells, thirst, lack of energy and frequent urination he had been experiencing were all symptoms. “Diabetes plays a role in everything I do, every day. If I had understood the risk factors and been tested sooner, the outcome could have been very different. I could have made the necessary lifestyle changes that might have prevented the onset of the disease in the first place,” he says.
Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in this country. Eleven million Canadians currently have diabetes or prediabetes today, and another person is diagnosed every three minutes. What is also alarming is that more than a million Canadians are estimated to have type 2 diabetes and don’t know it.
These statistics could be improved if people found out their risk and, based on that, took a simple blood test, since type 2 diabetes doesn’t always display signs. If they are determined to have prediabetes — higher than normal blood sugar but not high enough for diabetes — they receive a warning and an opportunity to make lifestyle changes.
However, “half of those with prediabetes will not develop diabetes and so people may underestimate the importance. They look at it as a reprieve rather than a wakeup call,” says Dr. Hux. “Yet, clinical lifestyle intervention at the prediabetes stage can reduce the risk of going on to type 2 diabetes by 68 per cent, and the changes don’t have to be daunting. That’s an impressive difference!”
A good first step: take a few minutes to complete the simple online CANRISK test. The test looks at risk factors, such as ethnicity, family history, age, gender, body mass index and physical activity to help identify a person’s overall risk. If a person has a moderate to high- risk score, they should contact their doctor. If a diagnosis is confirmed, comprehensive care can start to help control the disease and prevent complications.
It is a step Galardo wishes he had taken earlier. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting [ tested] early,” he says. “The knowledge that I might have been able to avoid diabetes upsets me to no end because I now know it is for life. My response is to give myself a shake and deal with it — because it has to be dealt with. And, to start a conversation with everyone I come into contact with.”
Lifestyle intervention at the prediabetes stage can reduce the risk of diabetes by 68 per cent.