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New diabetes report

The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) released a new report Regional Measures of Diabetes Burden in Ontario. This report examined patterns of diabetes prevalence, health outcomes and service availability across Ontario. It also includes information so that there can be a visual comparison of population characteristics, measures of diabetes burden and access to diabetes services at a variety of levels: across regions (Local Health Integration Networks), sub-regions (sub-LHINs) and communities (census subdivisions).

 Key findings from the report:

  • The highest prevalence of diabetes was in the Greater Toronto Area (up to 13% in some centres) and in northern and rural First Nations communities (as high as 32%).
  • The rates of acute complications varied four-fold across Ontario. Rates were the highest in smaller, mostly rural communities in northern and southern parts of Ontario and rates were lowest in urban areas.
  • The rates of chronic complications were highest in the north, especially amongst First Nations communities and in mostly rural part of southern Ontario, particularly in the southwestern and eastern parts of the province.
  • Co-existing medical and mental health problems were high amongst people with diabetes. Over half of people had an additional chronic condition and one-third visited a physician for a mental health problem between 2006/07 and 2008/09. In terms of prevalence of co-morbid conditions there was minimal variation across Ontario however there were significantly more mental health visits around the Greater Toronto Area.
  • Rates of access to diabetes programs and services were highest in urban areas of the province.

Various data sources were used for this report such as the Ontario Diabetes Database (ODD),the Registered Persons Database (RPDB), the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database (CIHI-DAD), the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS), the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) Database, the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) Database, the ICES Physician Database (IPDB), the Corporate Provider Database, an Inventory of Diabetes Education Programs from the Diabetes Regional Coordinating Centres, and Statistics Canada’s 2006 Census.

For more information go to: www.ices.on.ca.