from the September 20, 2010 issue of Connect

New research findings from the POWER Study reveal diabetes cases increasing among young women in Ontario

Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe

A disease that has long been thought to impact older men and women is now being detected more frequently among younger women. According to a study led by researchers at Women’s College Research Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, diabetes cases are on the rise in Ontario, with younger women being diagnosed at unprecedented rates.

“While older men still have higher rates than older women, women under 45 are getting diagnosed at the same rate as men in that age group,” says Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe, a scientist at the Women’s College Research Institute and endocrinologist at Women’s College Hospital.

The increasing presence of diabetes among younger women has far-reaching implications, especially for those who choose to delay motherhood.

“With more women having babies later in life, we are seeing a greater number of women getting pregnant with diabetes,” adds Dr. Lipscombe. “Our study found that having diabetes before pregnancy significantly increases the risk of pregnancy and fetal complications.”

Dr. Lipscombe is one of the lead authors of the latest chapter of the Project for an Ontario Women’s Health Evidence-Based Report (POWER) study – the first in the province to provide a comprehensive overview of women’s health in relation to gender, income, education, ethnicity and geography.

The authors of the study found that babies born to women with pre-pregnancy diabetes face twice as many fetal complications as those born to women without diabetes. Also notable is the finding that more than 50 per cent of people who don’t yet have diabetes do have risk factors – a troubling fact as diabetes cases continue to rise.

Based on the prevalence reported in the study, diabetes rates in Ontario have doubled in the last 12 years, with one in 10 Ontarians now being diagnosed with the disease, and one in four adults aged 65 and older living with the disease. These numbers are only expected to climb.

Funded by Echo: Improving Women’s Health in Ontario, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the results from the POWER Study are available for policy-makers and health-care providers to improve access, quality and outcomes of care for Ontario women.

For more information about the POWER study visit www.powerstudy.ca.