In the Belle Province, one in five Quebecers has pre -divided, often without knowing it. This is why a Montreal researcher wishes to implement a national screening and prevention program for this disease in the country, inspired by a British initiative that has experienced excellent results for several years.
Diabetes is one of the chronic diseases whose incidence increases the fastest. The number of Canadians with diabetes has doubled for 25 years and around 201,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
It is estimated that 6 million Canadians live with prediabetes and that more than half of them will develop type 2 diabetes in the next 8 to 10 years if no measure is taken.
With the increase in rates of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, it is urgent to act
says the DRE KABERI DASGUPTA, main scientist in the program on metabolic disorders and their complications at the Research Institute of the McGill University Center, in a recent text for the Canadian Medical Association (new window).
According to this specialist in internal medicine, it is possible to reduce the incidence of this chronic disease. The key is prevention. She stresses that several studies have shown that it is possible to slow down or stop a progression to diabetes.
And an initiative in England targeting pre -divided people or at risk of being would be, according to Dre Dasgupta, the perfect recipe for Canada.
“Our objective is to implement effective programs in Quebec that will serve as catalysts for other programs in Canada,” explains DRE DASGUPTA, who is also an internal medical specialist at the McGill University Health Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at McGill University.
Photo: University McGill
A proven and profitable approach
In 2009, England implemented the program NHS Health Check In order to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Adults aged 40 to 74 could arise for weight control, size, blood pressure and lipids not only in clinics but also in pharmacies or other places designated by the government (for example: nutrition clinics, gymnasiums).
At the same time, people were invited to fulfill a diabetes risk assessment questionnaire, followed by a blood sugar level.
The prediabetes designates a state where blood sugar is higher than normal, but not yet enough to diagnose type 2 diabetes.
Data has shown that many people were in a prediabreaker without even knowing it. The situation was at this point acute in March 2024, the NHS had received 1.5 million follow -up requests and 600,000 people had undertaken diabetes prevention interventions.
People with prediabetes were then oriented towards a diabetes prevention program, and those for which the test confirmed a diagnosis, to the remission program.
As part of the program offered to prediabetic people, 13 council and support sessions were offered over a period of nine months in order to reduce the risk of developing this disease.
Thanks to this program, it is estimated that the incidence of diabetes within the population decreased by 7.3 %.
The incidence of type 2 diabetes decreased on average by 20 % among those tested for prediabetes; It decreased by 31 % in people who participated in prevention sessions.
The NHS also offers remission sessions for 12 weeks to people with type 2. diabetes. This includes a food replacement program, specially formulated hypercalorical meals, then a transition to a healthy and balanced diet.
In two years, 7,540 people have been oriented towards this United Kingdom program. Among the 4,340 people who completed it, 32 % reached a remission of their type 2 diabetes, with an average weight loss of 16 kg (35 lb).
It is motivating for a person to see that they can be in remission of diabetes
,, the spos dloped srained the larges.
Even if it is not the whole population that participates in these sessions, the impact on it is impressive.
It was enough to reduce diabetes levels. It’s like tobacco: not everyone is going to stop, but there are so much less complications than it has an impact.
Public health authorities in England insisted that these programs are very accessible, not only with a family doctor or in a medical clinic.
The sessions are offered in different places such as pharmacies, gym and nutrition centers. To be accredited by the government, these centers must however achieve certain objectives and must share their data with the government.
The staff who give these sessions are not necessarily made up of doctors or nurses, but all have received training of a few days on behavioral change techniques. The support of dieticians, kinesiologists, psychologists and other health professionals is essential to be able to tackle this chronic disease which is more and more frequent
estimates the Dre Dasgupta.
She wishes such a collaboration among health professionals in Quebec who, according to her, could be a model for other provinces.
DRE DASGUPTA recalls that Canada adopted in 2022 the diabetes framework in Canada, which recommends the implementation of diabetes prevention programs for high -risk populations and the establishment of awareness campaigns to educate the public as to the risk factors for diabetes.
In addition, she notes, the NHS Considers that its program will save $ 121 million Canadian dollars over 35 years by reducing complications and processing costs related to diabetes. By preventing cases of diabetes, the health of Canadians would be better, and the country’s economic and health systems would also be better.
