The POWER (Project for an Ontario Women’s Health Evidence-Based Report) study has released its latest chapter, which focuses on diabetes. POWER is a multi-year project funded by Echo: Improving Women’s Health in Ontario.
The study reported on several different areas of diabetes care, including general (morbidity, health and functional status, and risk factors); access and utilization of care; screening, assessment and monitoring; health outcomes; pharmacological treatment; and diabetes and pregnancy.
Key findings from the diabetes chapter include the following:
- Diabetes is one of the most common diseases in our society,
- People with diabetes have worse functional status and self-rated health than those without diabetes,
- Increases in diabetes prevalence create a significant challenge for those who provide and fund health care,
- Men have higher rates of diabetes complications than women,
- Diabetes in pregnancy is associated with higher rates of complications,
- Income is a relevant factor when it comes to diabetes prevalence and complications,
- The risk of diabetes complications varies depending on where one lives in the province,
- Age is a strong risk factor for diabetes complications, and
- Gaps in care persist despite growing evidence of best practices for diabetes.
Other completed chapters in the POWER study include cancer, depression, access to health care services and musculoskeletal conditions. The study is a partnership between the Keenan Research Centre in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto.
To access the full POWER study report, go to www.powerstudy.ca.
For more information about diabetes and how it relates to mental health and illness, see the CMHA Ontario report “Diabetes and Serious Mental Illness: Future Directions for Ontario,” April 30, 2009, available at www.ontario.cmha.ca/backgrounders.