Report from the National Diabetes Surveillance System: Diabetes in Canada, 2009

[Previous] [Table of Contents] [Next]

Use of Health Services¹

• Younger adults (aged 20 to 49) with diagnosed diabetes had almost twice as many visits to family physicians (Figure 11) and 3 to 4 times as many visits to specialists (Figure 12) than individuals without diabetes. Even in the oldest age groups, individuals with diagnosed diabetes visited physicians and specialists about 1.5 times more often than individuals without diabetes.
• Adults with diagnosed diabetes had more days in hospital than individuals without diabetes (Figure 13). For hospitalized adults with diagnosed diabetes, aged 20 to 29 and 35 to 49 years, the number of hospital days was 5 to 6 times and almost 5 times (respectively) the number of hospital days for adults without diabetes. While adults older than 50 years had 2 to 4 times the number of hospital days than their counterparts without diabetes (Figure 13).
• Children and adolescents with diagnosed diabetes had 1.6 times more visits to family physicians (Figure 11) and about 5 times as many visits to specialists (Figure 12) as those without diabetes.
• Children and adolescents with diagnosed diabetes had 11 times the number of days spent in hospital than those without diabetes (Figure 13).

Figure 13 - Text Equivalent

Footnotes

¹ Data from Quebec were unavailable.

[Previous] [Table of Contents] [Next]