Health care providers can help prevent Type-2 Diabetes








(NC) — Type 2 diabetes affects roughly 2.5 million Canadians and an estimated one in three cases of diabetes remains undetected and undiagnosed. Additionally, it is estimated that roughly five million Canadians over the age of 20 are pre-diabetic (when blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes). Left untreated, diabetes can lead to many serious complications, including heart and kidney disease, vision loss, lower limb amputation, and even premature death.

Many doctors, pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners, and other health care providers are now benefiting from a tool developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada to help Canadians assess their risks of developing type 2 diabetes. The Canadian Diabetes Risk Questionnaire, known as CANRISK, is available online at www.phac-aspc.gc.ca and at Shoppers Drug Mart/ Pharmaprix, Pharmasave, Rexall, and Loblaw pharmacies. CANRISK is also available as a free app through the Apple store.

To use the tool, patients fill in the questionnaire, obtain their results, and can then discuss their results with a pharmacist or their health care provider. Results from the questionnaire can also be used to advise Canadians on how to make healthy lifestyle decisions to prevent type 2 diabetes.

“Education and awareness are cornerstones of preventive medicine,” says Dr. Sandy Buchman, past president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. “Tools like CANRISK can play an important role in supporting the dialogue between people and their health care practitioners about disease prevention.”

The tool asks participants questions about their height, weight, waist circumference, age, ethnicity, family background, and lifestyle. The tool also asks about risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, birth weight of their babies and any previous history of diabetes during pregnancy (known as gestational diabetes). As each question is answered online, relevant tips and information appear instantly.

Once all the questions have been completed, the questionnaire reveals whether participants are at low, moderate, or high risk for developing diabetes and provides a link to another website with diabetes information. The entire questionnaire takes less than three minutes to complete.

The Agency says while factors such as age, gender, family history and ethno-cultural background can be risk factors for developing diabetes, changes in lifestyle, such as losing weight, exercising, and eating a balanced diet can reduce the chance of developing the disease significantly.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has also created Your Guide to Diabetes, whichprovides comprehensive, easy-to-understand information on the symptoms and complications of diabetes, as well as information on how to live with diabetes. The guide is available on the Agency's website or by calling 1-800-O-Canada.

Both CANRISK and Your Guide to Diabetes are available in 11 alternate languages: Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Korean, Vietnamese, Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati, Tamil, Tagalog, Farsi, and Spanish, which can be ordered through e-mail at PSD-DPS@phac-aspc.gc.ca.


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