Diabetes becoming more common among Canada’s First Nations people

New research suggests the prevalence of diabetes among Canada’s First Nations people is on the rise. Looking at data from 1995-2014, researchers found that prevalence — how many cases there were at any given time — rose from 11% in 1995 to more than 16% two decades later. First Nations women had a higher prevalence, as did Indigenous people living within First Nations communities. First Nations people also had a 57% chance of developing diabetes over their lifetimes versus a 44% risk for others in Ontario. However, diabetes incidence — the frequency at which new cases emerged — decreased, from approximately 11 cases per 1,000 people in 2001 to 8 cases per 1,000 people in 2014. The study was unable to distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, making it difficult to confirm the reason behind the trend, the authors write.