TORONTO – A study into how and why diabetes disproportionately affects Aboriginals will be presented Thursday at the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) conference.
Diabetes rates range from three to five times higher in Aboriginals as compared to non-Aboriginals. While most of that population lives on reserves in Canadian urban centres, the impact of diabetes in urban Aboriginal communities is not well understood, according to a release from the CDA.
The high rates of the disease in Aboriginals is linked to such factors as:
-genetic predisposition
-decreased physical activity
-higher rates of obesity
-dietary changes from unprocessed food to high-calorie proceed foods
Researcher and manager of Anishnawbe Health Toronto Jane Harrison says that the major theme gleaned from the study is that diabetes should be treated as a “family affair.”
“Diabetes affects multiple generations in one family and family members form a major support system for Aboriginal people living with diabetes,” she said in the release.
One key finding of the study was that 24 per cent of Aboriginal diabetics had not looked for help from Elders or traditional counsellors, pointing to a need for greater accessibility to programs. This added to the finding that 68 per cent of respondents said cultural teachings can help Aboriginal people manage the disease.
The study was conducted by Anishnawbe Health Toronto and will be released at 2 p.m. PT at the CDA conference in Vancouver. You can follow the conference on Twitter at #CDA12.
The research was commissioned by the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network with the aim of studying causes of higher prevalence and poorer outcomes of diabetes in Aboriginals living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), but the CDA notes that findings are relevant for Aboriginals in cities across Canada.
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