Diabetes tests raise alarm bells

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Diabetes testing for people who are marginalized or living in the street in Kamloops has revealed a risk factor so high that it surprised even the street nurses.

Part of a national effort of health outreach and diabetes prevention, the testing preceded a diabetes health fair held Friday by the Interior Aboriginal Friendship Centre.

Blood glucose levels for non-diabetic individuals are generally in the range 4 to 7.

“What we expected with at-risk people is that it would be high, and it’s right off the chart,” said Christopher Phillips, executive director of the centre. “We’re speaking about testing well above 80 per cent” of individuals who exceed those levels.

“This has actually been an eye-opener for me,” said Gaudenza Rammunal, an IHA street nurse.

What encourages them is that efforts to raise awareness and practice prevention among marginalized, street-entrenched or disenfranchised people are showing promise.

“It’s actually been phenomenal and people are really responding.”

The centre, which operates an urban native health clinic in association with Interior Health, offered free lunch Friday to bring more people into the fold. Nurses were on hand to provide information and counseling.

“We’re doing this as a pilot project over three weeks in Vernon, Kamloops and Kelowna,” said James Kuecks, representing IHA.

The outreach extends equally to aboriginal and nonaboriginal people, but there is a greater risk factor among aboriginals, an incidence attributed partly to genetics and a diet of too much processed food.

“In the aboriginal population, diabetes is about three to five times higher than in the regular population,” Kuecks noted.

Public Health Agency Canada offers diabetes programs but they often don’t connect with certain populations that are at risk.

Pre-diabetic symptoms can include a heightened sense of thirst, hunger and fatigue, and more frequent urination at night.

“If folks have those symptoms, we certainly want them to go see a doctor about it.”

Prevention and early detection are critical, Phillips said.

“Especially with guys. We don’t go to the doctor at the best of times.”