Cara Loverock
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, November 14, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Aboriginal people in the NWT are three to five times more likely to develop diabetes than the overall Canadian population, according to the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA).

It's a statistic that prompted the association to ask the city of Yellowknife to declare the month of November Diabetes Awareness Month, according to Heather Masters, Prairies area marketing and communications assistant for the CDA.

The city agreed to the request following the Oct. 22 regular council meeting.

Every year the diabetes association has November as their campaign month. This year the campaign is targeting young adults, specifically ages 18 to 29. There are activities planned throughout the month in Yellowknife to raise diabetes awareness.

According to 2005 statistics from the Canadian government, 2,300 people in the NWT have diabetes.

In a letter written to the city, Jack Ballash, regional director with the Canadian Diabetes Association, wrote that over the next four years the rate of diabetes among Canadians will increase 50 per cent. There will be a significant effect on the economy and the health care system as a result, with the cost of treating diabetes estimated to rise from $13 billion to $15.6 billion nationally in the next three years.

According to Dr. John Morse, medical director for the diabetes education program at Stanton Territorial Hospital, 4.3 per cent of the population in the NWT have diabetes.

Many people who have diabetes aren't aware they have it, said Morse.

"The estimate is we only diagnose about half the people that actually have it," he said. "So, if there's 200 or 300 people in Yellowknife with it, there's another 200 or 300 people walking around that have diabetes that don't know it."