Cost of Diabetes

The Canadian Diabetic Association (CDA) estimates that the cost of treating people with diabetes in Canada is $5 to $6 billion annually. These costs include:

Direct costs: in-patient care, out-patient care, medications, medical equipment, supplies, laboratory tests.

Indirect costs: transportation, lodging, family care, decreased productivity, decreased earnings potential, increased insurance.

Why is breastfeeding not aggressively promoted to reduce the risk of diabetes? In Colorado researchers determined that 14 per cent of insulin dependent diabetes melitis (IDDM) occurring in the Colorado population could be attributed to lack of breastfeeding.

In New Mexico, exclusive breastfeeding for at least two months was associated with a lower rate of non-insulin dependent diabetes melitis (NIDDM).