World Diabetes Day shines light on those battling disease during pandemic

While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to change the way we go about our daily lives, it has forced individuals in high-risk groups to take even greater measures to protect their health. Along with the elderly and those living with a weakened immune system, people with diabetes are also paying a particularly high price.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), six per cent of the world’s population has diabetes, which has increased four times beyond what it was in 1980. The organization states that while diabetics have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease and death if infected, many are having difficulty getting the treatment they need due to healthcare disruptions in the face of the pandemic.

Diabetes is a disease where insulin in the body cannot be produced or can’t be used. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to help the body regulate glucose in the blood, more commonly known as your blood sugar.

Having high blood sugar can cause diabetes-related complications, like kidney disease, foot and leg problems, eye disease that can lead to blindness, heart attack and stroke, anxiety, nerve damage and amputation. Properly managing blood sugar levels reduces the risk of developing these complications.

In marking World Diabetes Day, the WHO announced the creation of the Global Diabetes Compact, a “comprehensive and inclusive approach to support countries in implementing effective programmes for the prevention and management of diabetes.”

While there are no local Toronto events this year due to health restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic, many online are sharing information on how the pandemic has severe effects on those with diabetes.

“Diabetes prevention is a really important issue and you need to remember right now that we are in the middle of a diabetes epidemic in addition to the current pandemic,” says Dr. Patricia Brubaker, a professor of Physiology and Medicine at the University of Toronto and Canada Research Chair in Vascular and Metabolic Biology.

There are three major types of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common diagnosis, followed by type 1 diabetes.

“Type one is very different from type two diabetes,” says Dr. Brubaker in explaining the differences between the types of diabetics. “It’s an autoimmune disease where your body destroys its beta cells that are essential for life.”

“Type two can be further broken into subgroups which can include prediabetics and gestational diabetes.”

“Diabetes is a very personal disease that can be treated better if the patient has a good awareness of their disease and what needs to be done to keep their blood glucose under optimal control. So, having good educators in addition to having good treatments is essential.”

According to Diabetes Canada, 11 million Canadians are living with diabetes or prediabetes, and those at age 20 now face a 50 per cent chance of developing the disease. Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin by Canadians Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and John MacLeod at the University of Toronto in 1921.