A study designed to find out how many Bermudians are diabetic is being planned for September.

The Bermuda Diabetic Association is conducting the epidemiology study with the help of Lions and Lionesses, The Rotary Club and the Bermuda Dietetic Association.

The same type of study has already been done in Nova Scotia, Canada and has proven very effective.

The study, which should take four months to complete will involve collecting 2,000 random blood samples from the population.

Presently it is not known exactly how many people in the island suffer from diabetes.

According to Mrs Debbie Jones, coordinator of the Bermuda Diabetic Education Centre at King Edward VII Memorial Hoispital, most people with diabetes do not even know they have it, partly because there are two types of the disease.

Type one diabetes involves severe symptoms such as extreme urination, thirst and serious infections caused by a lack of insulin.

With type two, the symptoms are relatively milder and most people explain them away believing instead that they are normal signs of age or tiredness.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, and 45 percent of the people who need dialysis in Bermuda do so because of kidney failure -- a complication of diabetes, 20 to 25 percent of people with heart disease are diabetic, and many amputations are due to diabetic complications.

The control of diabetes can reduce the risk of complications but prevention is even better, Mrs. Jones said.

The aim of the study is to determine the current status of diabetes and some of its complications in Bermuda.

The findings from such a study will make it possible for diabetics and the medical profession to: Have a better quality of life; Promote self cure; Help control diabetes and its complications; Prevent diabetes and its complications; Make more cost effective health care; Find out how common diabetes is in Bermuda.

It will also determine: How many people suffer from impaired glucose intolerance; How many people have risk factors for developing diabetes; How many people with diabetes have heart disease; The cardiovascular risk profile of Bermudians with diabetes; and How many Bermudians with diabetes have kidney and visual complications.

Each interview is likely to take up to 55 minutes and interviewers will follow up by making phone calls. The people involved will be given clinic visits, blood test, and glucose tolerance test.

Overseas specialist Dr. Meng Tan, the chief of endocrinology at the Halifax Infirmary, will help to direct the study. Dr. Tan is also professor of endocrinology at Dalhousie University and the vice president of the International Diabetes Federation.

The Bermuda Diabetic Association is asking people from the medical profession for their help in conducting the interviews. Interviewers will be paid a nominal sum of $15 per case.

All interviewers will be expected to complete three days of training. Other help will be needed to conduct phone calls and any paperwork associated with the project.

Anyone wishing to help can contact Ms Jane Amaral at 295-7799 or 295-4462 or send her a fax at 295-8888.