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Thanks to the support of partners like the Canucks for Kids Fund, JDRF has launched a Mental Health and Diabetes Strategy to improve the mental health – and by extension, the physical health – of those living with diabetes. This strategy aims to improve the lives of children and adults living with diabetes by improving access, supports and removing barriers.
JDRF is the leading national charitable funder of type 1 diabetes (T1D) research in Canada, and along with our global network of affiliates, has supported nearly every major scientific breakthrough in T1D research worldwide since our inception.
We work every day to improve the lives of the approximately 300,000 Canadians living with this autoimmune disease, while funding the most promising research into cures.
Approximately 2,600 volunteers across Canada help drive JDRF’s mission.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. It occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called beta cells.
While the cause of T1D is not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved. Onset has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. People with T1D must constantly monitor blood glucose levels and take external insulin, either by pump, multiple daily injections, or pen in order to stay alive. And even with the most vigilant management, there are risks of potentially life-altering complications including blindness, amputation, kidney failure and even death. There is nothing you can do to prevent T1D, and — at present — nothing you can do to cure it.
- An estimated 300,000 Canadians are living with T1D – and this number is increasing at an alarming rate.
- Canada now has the fifth highest incidence rate of T1D in children aged 14 years and younger globally.
- While there have been many advancements in technology and delivery of insulin over the past 100 years; either by injection or pump, it remains the only treatment for T1D, and is not a cure.
- The number of people living with T1D is increasing by 4.4% annually in Canada – and the most significant rise is in children under five years of age.
- Up to 300 life and death decisions made each day by someone living with T1D
- 547 million insulin injections a year for all Canadians living with T1D (based on an average of 5 injections per day per 300K Canadians)
- 3,000 fewer days of life in a lifetime for a Canadian living with T1D diagnosed at age 10.
- 2,190 times each year that the average person living with T1D checks their blood glucose (based on an average of six checks a day)
- Approx. 11,000 Canadians of all ages are diagnosed with T1D each year
- A Canadian with diabetes can face direct costs for medication and diabetes supplies of up to $15,000 per year.
The Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF
Join us in getting closer to cures for T1D
Mental Health Matters
Learn about how we are aiming to provide meaningful mental health support to the type 1 diabetes community thanks to partners like the Canucks for Kids Fund.
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