Diabetes-prevalence and care practices.

In 2005, an estimated 1.3 million Canadians aged 12 or older (4.9% of the population of these ages) reported to the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) that they had been diagnosed with diabetes. The Canadian Diabetes Association has published Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada,which recommend the type of care that should be provided to individuals with diabetes. According to the CCHS, and based on data from six of the provinces/territories (Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Yukon Territory), almost three-quarters of diabetic respondents aged 18 or older reported having had their hemoglobin A1C checked by a health care professional at least once in the year before the survey, and those who had had the test were close to meeting the recommended frequency of every three months. The majority of diabetic respondents were also meeting the recommendation for eye examinations, but only half had the recommended annual foot examinations. Half the diabetic population reported that they or a family member had checked their glucose level every day.