101 - Diabetes Prevalence and Incidence Among the Métis

Métis people form a distinct group of Indigenous peoples in Canada. To date, the health of the Métis population has been understudied in comparison to the general Canadian population and in comparison to the other Indigenous populations (First Nations and Inuit). This report was made to address the prevalence and incidence of diabetes amongst Métis. Through this research project, this study is filling a substantive research gap, in terms of developing Métis specific diabetes research. This report found that our citizens are far more likely to be living with diabetes than non-Métis. This report also found that dispensation rates of blood sugar lowering medications and medications prescribed for the treatment of complications of diabetes (blood pressure medications, cardio/kidney protection drugs, and lipid-lowering drugs) to be 1.6 times higher in comparison to the generalized non-Métis population. These results suggest that preventative programs and services involving the Métis population are warranted. It was recommended that these preventative programs should be focused on health promotion to increase the awareness of the risk factors for diabetes and to increase blood sugar screening to identify individuals with pre-diabetes. This study was limited to the number of Métis citizens who have been diagnosed by physicians. Other limitations were the fact that not all Métis citizens are registered.