Prediabetes and Type II Diabetes in Canada

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Introduction The incidence of Type 2 diabetes is growing rapidly. There were approximately 2.4 million type 2 diabetics in Canada in 2008/09 (Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], 2011), and another 5 million Canadians over the age of 20 with prediabetes in 2004(PHAC, 2011). It is upon this group with prediabetes that this paper will focus. Prediabetes has been defined by the American Diabetes Association as blood glucose levels which are above the normal range but do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of diabetes (The Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. American Diabetic Association, 2003). While the World Health Organization (World Health Organization [WHO], 2006) uses different cut offs for both impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) the definition remains the same. That is that prediabetes is the state which lies between normal values and those which meet the criterion of a diagnosis of diabetes. While these two definitions differ in some aspects there is general agreement (Lindstrom et al., 2006; Norris et al., 2005; Pan et al., 1997) that it is in this stage of the disease that type 2 diabetes can be reversed. Multiple studies have demonstrated the reversal of a prediabetic state to a normoglyceamic state (Norris et al., 2005). This prediabetic state can precede type 2 diabetes itself by years. It is on this we can focus our attention and effort in to stem the tide of diabetes. This prediabetic state has been shown to be susceptible to several interventions- exercise and diet as well as pharmacological measures. Key amongst these various interventions is the control of the hyperglycemic state and increased sensitization of cells to glucose and pr... ... middle of paper ... ...oi: 10.1172/JCI29069 Statistics Canada. (2005). Projections of the Aboriginal Populations, Canada, Provinces and Territories (91-547-XWE). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. The Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. American Diabetic Association. (2003). Follow-up report on the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care, 26, 3160-3167. doi: 10.2337/diacare.26.11.3160 World Health Organization. (1965). Diabetes Mellitus: Report of a WHO Expert Committee (Technical Report 310). Retrieved from : http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_310.pdf World Health Organization. (2006). Definition and Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus and Intermediate Hyperglycemia (Report of a WHO/IDF Consultation). Retrieved from World Health Organization website: http://www.idf.org/webdata/docs/WHO_IDF_definition_diagnosis_of_diabetes.pdf

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