Diabetes Canterbury Society

Diabetes complications affect our communities in so many ways including blindness, amputation, heart attack, stroke, kidney, disease, tooth and gum disease and foot ulcers.

With your help we can help spread awareness and support, educate people with diabetes and fund research projects. Over 20,700 people have diabetes in Canterbury. It can be Type 1, Type 2, Gestational & another 20,000 have Pre Diabetes (and many don’t even know).

We provided services to people with diabetes, advocacy for people with diabetes, promotion and support of research into diabetes, awareness of diabetes, dissemination of information and advice about diabetes and educational courses on the management of diabetes.

There are three main types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes used to be called juvenile-onset diabetes. It is usually caused by an auto-immune reaction where the body’s defence system attacks the cells that produce insulin. The reason this occurs is not fully understood. People with type 1 diabetes produce very little or no insulin. The disease may affect people of any age, but usually develops in children or young adults. People with this form of diabetes need injections of insulin every day in order to control the levels of glucose in their blood. If people with type 1 diabetes do not have access to insulin, they will die.

Type 2 diabetes used to be called non-insulin dependent diabetes or adult-onset diabetes, and accounts for at least 90% of all cases of diabetes. It is characterised by insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency, either or both of which may be present at the time diabetes is diagnosed. The diagnosis of type 2 diabetes can occur at any age. Type 2 diabetes may remain undetected for many years and the diagnosis is often made when a complication appears or a routine blood or urine glucose test is done. It is often, but not always, associated with overweight or obesity, which itself can cause insulin resistance and lead to high blood glucose levels. People with type 2 diabetes can often initially manage their condition through exercise and diet. However, over time most people will require oral drugs and or insulin.

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are serious. There is no such thing as mild diabetes.

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a form of diabetes consisting of high blood glucose levels during pregnancy. It develops in one in 25 pregnancies worldwide and is associated with complications to both mother and baby. GDM usually disappears after pregnancy but women with GDM and their children are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Approximately half of women with a history of GDM go on to develop type 2 diabetes within five to ten years after delivery.

Other specific types of diabetes also exist.

250,000 people in NZ now diagnosed with type 2 diabetes AND 50 x patients per day being diagnosed.

World wide facts:

387 million people have diabetes; by 2035 this will rise to 592 million

The number of people with type 2 diabetes is increasing in every country

77% of people with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries

The greatest number of people with diabetes are between 40 and 59 years of age

179 million people with diabetes are undiagnosed

Diabetes caused 4.9 million deaths in 2014; Every seven seconds a person dies from diabetes

Diabetes caused at least USD 612 billion dollars in health expenditure in 2014 – 11% of total spending on adults

More than 79,000 children developed type 1 diabetes in 2013

More than 21 million live births were affected by diabetes during pregnancy in 2013

There were an estimated 143 million women with diabetes in 2010. By 2030, this number is expected to rise to 222 million.

Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death in women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths per year. The majority of these occur in low and middle income countries.

Two out of every five women with diabetes are of reproductive age, accounting for over 60 million women worldwide.

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is any glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy, and develops in one in 25 pregnancies worldwide.

Without pre-conception planning, type 1 and type 2 diabetes can result in a significantly higher risk of maternal and child mortality and morbidity during pregnancy. The reported incidence of maternal mortality of pregnant type 1 diabetic women is 5–20 times higher than that of women without diabetes.

Diabetes may already be a leading cause of high risk pregnancies in some countries, and yet is a neglected maternal health issue

So please help support us today!

Thank you :)