Significant economic burden of diabetes

$ 1.3 trillion in diabetes costs
Diabetes is one of the world's most common metabolic diseases. The illness causes not only health, but also far-reaching economic damage. An international research team involving scientists from the University of Göttingen has determined in a recent study, the global costs due to diabetes. For 2015, these amount to 1.31 trillion US dollars.

The economic burden of the estimated 420 million diabetes cases worldwide in 2015, according to the researchers amounted to about 1.8 percent of global economic output. The substantial sum of $ 1.3 trillion in follow-up costs of the disease is the result of the current calculations. This shows how serious the economic burdens of diabetes are. The results of the study were published in the journal "The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology".

Approximately 420 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, resulting in approximately $ 1.3 trillion in follow-up costs. (Image: 6okean / fotolia.com)

Indirect follow-up costs of diabetes not yet recorded
When physicians talk about the consequences of diabetes, topics such as foot amputations or neuropathies are usually in the foreground. But in addition to the health consequences of the disease and economic damage, which have so far been inadequately determined. "Earlier estimates were mostly only the direct cost of diabetes, so the health expenditure for insulin, test strips or about the treatment of complications," explains the economist Prof. Dr. med. Sebastian Vollmer from the University of Göttingen. Therefore, the follow-up costs of the disease were limited.

Even poor countries with high costs are burdened by diabetes
For the new study, the scientists have now additionally included the indirect costs such as production losses resulting from mortality and morbidity. "According to the study, the global economy lost a total of US $ 455 billion in 2015 as a result of deaths, inability to work, illness and reduced productivity," reports the University of Göttingen. Not only were the costs in industrialized countries such as Germany or the US relatively high at 1.6 percent and 2.6 percent of national economic output, but many low- and middle-income countries were also burdened with high costs.

Diabetes is also widespread in India and China
"Often, especially type 2 diabetes is considered a disease of affluence," said co-author Christian Bommer of the University of Göttingen. Many people are unaware that the incidence of diabetes in India and China, for example, has reached levels similar to those in Europe. Overall, the study found that the economic costs of diabetes are much higher than in previous studies, which also shows that indirect costs should not be ignored, otherwise the extent of the problem would be significantly underestimated, according to Prof. Vollmer. (Fp)