In the Canary Islands there are currently 196,921 people with diabetes, of which 16,481 are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 180,440 with type 2 diabetes.
Under the motto Diabetes. Know your risk, know your response, the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the general directorates of Public Health, Patient and Chronicity and Assistance Programs of the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS), in coordination with the Federation of Diabetes Associations of the Canary Islands (FAdiCAN), join the commemoration of World Diabetes Day, which is promoted every November 14 by the International Diabetes Federation.
To this end, the SCS has developed a dissemination campaign and a series of scheduled activities to publicize actions to prevent and manage diabetes.
This campaign consists of posters and a brochure with basic information on prevention, control and management of diabetes, as well as a series of graphic materials that will be disseminated on the social networks of the Ministry of Health and Canarias Saludable.
You can consult all the information about this campaign at this link.
Diabetes incidence
The World Health Organization defines diabetes as a chronic disease caused by a lack of insulin production or action that causes a sustained increase in blood glucose.
Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5-10 percent of all diabetes and cannot be prevented. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95 percent of the total, but almost half of people with type 2 diabetes are undiagnosed, as symptoms may be mild or absent.
The risk of type 2 diabetes is conditioned by non-modifiable factors (family history, age, sex, ethnicity) and other modifiable factors (unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, smoking). The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the child and adolescent population has increased in parallel with the prevalence of obesity.
Diabetes data in the Canary Islands
In the Canary Islands there is currently a population of 2,120,028, of which 196,921 have diabetes, 16,481 are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 180,440 with type 2 diabetes.
Prevention and risk factors
The theme for this year’s World Diabetes Day, Diabetes. Know your risk, know your response, encourage early detection and review of each person’s main risk factors to delay the onset of type 2 diabetes: being over 45 years old, being overweight or obese, being physically inactive and sedentary, having elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, suffering from high blood pressure, having had gestational diabetes or having a family history of diabetes.
Check your risk of type 2 diabetes by clicking here.
Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by adopting healthy lifestyle habits such as healthy eating, maintaining an adequate weight, engaging in daily physical activity, reducing sedentary activities, avoiding toxic habits such as smoking, and taking care of emotional well-being and hours of sleep.
Risks of complications
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are accompanied by a significant risk of acute (hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, ketosis, ketoacidosis, and nonketotic hyperosmolar coma) and chronic (nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy, cerebrovascular disease, diabetic foot) complications that can be prevented.
Diabetes education should be taught at the following times: at the beginning, annually, when there are changes in pharmacological treatment, when chronic complications appear, during pregnancy or during pregnancy planning, and during important transitions in life.
Diabetes education in the hospital and Primary Care setting, both individual and group, is the best tool for people with diabetes to learn to identify, prevent and treat acute complications.
Diabetes and vaccination against flu and covid-19
Vaccination against flu and covid-19 are recommended for people with diabetes. Vaccination in health centers is always carried out by appointment, by calling 012 or their numbers without additional fee 922 470 012 and 928 301 012.
For more information about the campaign, consult here.
Technology applied to diabetes
The SCS has, within its service portfolio, different devices for the self-control and monitoring of people with diabetes, such as flash and continuous glucose monitoring systems and continuous insulin infusion pumps.
So far in 2023, a total of 1,122 flash-type systems have been prescribed through Electronic Prescription and three continuous systems that have just been incorporated into this system.
The Technical Group for the evaluation and control of the Indication of continuous insulin infusion pumps and glucose monitoring systems in the Canary Islands has received a total of 546 applications between January and October 2023 and 80 insulin pumps, 196 insulin linked to continuous glucose sensor and 270 continuous glucose sensors. Of the total, 168 correspond to the pediatric population, 378 to the adult population and among these, ten were for pregnant women.
Training in glucose monitoring systems
The General Directorate of Assistance Programs of the SCS, between July 17 and October 31, 2023, has developed and accredited training in this area through the course called Interstitial Glucose Monitoring Systems for people with type 2 diabetes in the SCS , aimed at Primary Care Family Care Units (medical and nursing professionals) on all the islands. With a mixed methodology, online and in-person, the objective of this course has been for health professionals to learn about and interpret glucose monitoring systems in order to improve medical treatments and provide diabetes education based on real data in people with type 2 diabetes.
This course is essential to be a prescriber or educator in these systems for the population with type 2 diabetes in Primary Care. In future editions, the training units will continue to be expanded gradually.
Health Class Activities
Health Classes is a group health education program that has been developed in the Canary Islands since 2006 and brings together all group health education interventions with the population.
In the period between January and September 2023 and within the framework of Health Classes, 2,638 courses have been developed divided into 17,858 sessions, and 97,985 people have participated (55,187 women and 42,798 men). Of the activities mentioned above, 52 correspond specifically to diabetes, divided into 130 sessions and in which 728 people (379 women and 349 men) have participated.
In the area of ​​promotion and prevention, actions regarding nutrition, physical activity and smoking cessation have also been developed. A total of 99 courses were developed, divided into 352 sessions, in which 3,270 people (1,976 women and 1,294 men) participated, actions that support the promotion and prevention of type 2 diabetes.
Canary Islands Patient School
The Canary Islands Patient School is a SCS project aimed at promoting the figure of the active patient. It is developed through workshops where, in small groups of patients, family members and caregivers, the exchange of knowledge is facilitated and skills are acquired between people who share the experience of a chronic illness with the aim of improving their quality of life.
Since its launch in 2019, 49 workshops have been held for patients with diabetes, and so far in 2023, 13 workshops focused on this disease have been held.
Training in healthy and sustainable eating
For its part, the Health Promotion service of the General Directorate of Public Health of the SCS has carried out three editions of the course Promotion of healthy and sustainable eating in 2023, which have added approximately 600 registrations, starting with the fourth edition this November 13th.
This action is aimed at Primary Care health professionals who carry out care functions aimed at the population over 15 years of age with the general objective of training and raising awareness among health professionals in the promotion of healthy and sustainable eating patterns.