Every year, the number of people with diabetes increases dramatically around the world. In fact, one person in 10 lives with this incurable chronic disease in the world. At Entraide diabétique du Québec, our mission is to raise funds to support the activities of Diabetes Québec, a non-profit association that has been serving people with diabetes for over 65 years. Here is a brief overview of diabetes and the statistics related to it…

Diabetes in a few words
Diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin—a hormone that regulates blood sugar, or when the body is unable to use the insulin it produces. The goal is to maintain a stable and balanced blood sugar level to avoid suffering from the disease.
 
In Quebec, 1,200,000 people are affected by diabetes, 10% by type 1 and 90% by type 2. In addition, one woman in 10 has gestational diabetes, commonly called pregnancy diabetes. Worldwide, 537 million people were living with diabetes in 2021. According to the INSPQ, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Diabetes Canada, it is estimated that 643 million people will be living with diabetes by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. This means that every day, 620 people will be diagnosed with diabetes and one person will die of the disease or its complications every 5 seconds.
 
In Canada, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults under the age of 65. It is also responsible for:

• 30 % of strokes
• 40 % of heart attacks
• 50 % of kidney failure requiring dialysis
• 70 % of non-traumatic foot and leg amputations

Types of diabetes
Type 2 diabetes results from the body’s misuse of insulin. It is largely the result of excess weight, poor diet and lack of physical activity and represents the majority of diabetes cases (90% of cases). It usually occurs in adulthood, but is increasingly common in young people.
 
The main risk factors for type 2 diabetes are: age, heredity, large waistline, ethnicity, high blood pressure and being a male.
 
Type 1 diabetes, on the other hand, is more the result of insufficient production of insulin, or its total absence, so it must be administered daily. This type often affects children and young people under the age of 20. So far, it is impossible to prevent type 1 diabetes.

The symptoms
Although symptoms and risk factors may vary from one person to another, the following symptoms should not be overlooked and, above all, a health care professional should be consulted if there are any questions:

• Fatigue
• Intense thirst
• Exaggerated hunger
• Irritability
• Unintentional weight loss
• Dizziness
• Increased urination

In short, this common disease has an estimated economic impact of $3 billion per year in direct and indirect costs. In 2021 alone, worldwide spending on diabetes was estimated at $966 billion US. Entraide diabétique du Québec therefore needs your donations, clothing and small items in good condition dropped off into our donation boxes or picked up at home in order to pursue our mission of helping Diabetes Québec.
 
Source : diabete.qc.ca/en/understand-diabetes/all-about-diabetes/myths-and-statistics/