
Diabetes Awareness Month: Why is it so important to take your diabetes medication?
As we mark Diabetes Awareness Month in November, it is perhaps good to start with a reality check. The fact is that too many Canadians are already very aware of diabetes, either because they are living with it, or know at least one friend or family member who is.
The latest Statistics Canada data (from 2016) show that about 2.1 million Canadians have been diagnosed with diabetes (7% of the population 12 and older). The overwhelming majority (about 90%), suffer from type 2 diabetes.
Even more alarming is a 2011 report from Diabetes Canada, which looks at skyrocketing increases in the number of Canadians living with diabetes since the year 2000, and estimates that by 2020, one in three Canadians will be affected. (Note that this figure includes people with undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes.)
Although treatable, diabetes is by no means curable, and it can lead to very serious consequences, including blindness, amputation, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. For diabetes patients, preventing these outcomes in the long term means carefully controlling their blood sugar levels every day.
Read: Knowing your risk of type 2 diabetes can help you reduce the impact
The good news is that there are very effective medications to treat diabetes, and new and better treatments are becoming available seemingly every day. Some of the newer drugs produce fewer side effects (low blood glucose, weight gain), and may even reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke for diabetes patients, which would be a major benefit.
Today, thanks to these advancements, along with a healthy diet and exer
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