A new report says the number of diabetics diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure has more than doubled in the last decade.
The report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information says the dramatic increase correlates with a rise in the incidence of Type 2 diabetes among Canadians during the same period.
Newly diagnosed cases of end-stage renal disease rose 114 per cent – to more than 2,100 cases from just under 1,100 cases between 1995 and 2004.
End-stage renal disease refers to a condition in which the kidneys are permanently damaged and can no longer function.
Patients must be kept alive with regular dialysis until a donor kidney becomes available.
Institute manager of clinical registries Margaret Keresteci said diabetes is the fastest-growing cause of end-stage renal disease.
She said diabetes is now a factor in more than 40 per cent of all patients with end-stage kidney failure, up from 25 per cent 10 years ago.
