Diabetes rates will continue to skyrocket across Saskatchewan, which could prove costly if the government doesn’t step up to help.

That’s the finding of the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA).

In a recent report, the CDA said the number of people living with diabetes in Saskatchewan is expected to hit 100,000 in 2017, up from 97,000 in 2016.

In addition, 176,000 are expected to be living with prediabetes and another 43,000 with undiagnosed diabetes.

In other words, about over 25 per cent of the province (using 2014 population estimates) is estimated to be living with diabetes or prediabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body cannot produce insulin or cannot properly use the insulin it produces. This leads to high levels of blood sugar, which can result in serious complications.

In prediabetes, a person’s blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

According to the CDA, nearly half of those with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes.

The CDA also says diabetes results in $99.8 million in direct health care costs provincially, including hospitalizations, doctor visits and inpatient medications.

 

For more on this story, please see the Jan. 18 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald.