The Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) has released information about a new Ontario Diabetes Cost Model. The model shows that the prevalence and economic cost of diabetes in Ontario has sharply increased over the last ten years. The CDA believes that the prevalence and cost of diabetes will continue to increase substantially over the next ten years without immediate action.
The Ontario Diabetes Cost Model estimates that 1,169,000 people in Ontario have been diagnosed with type 1 or 2 diabetes as of 2010 (about 8.3 percent of the population). The model also estimates that the economic burden of diabetes in Ontario is approximately $4.9 billion in 2010 (measured in 2009 dollars). However, this cost is expected to increase by 42 percent by 2020 to $7 billion.
To reduce the burden of diabetes in Ontario, the CDA recommends a three-pronged approach that includes a broad-based diabetes prevention strategy, a targeted population at-risk strategy and a diabetes complications prevention strategy.
See “The Cost of Diabetes in Ontario” and “The Burden of Diabetes in Ontario,” September 2010, available at www.diabetes.ca.