Type 2 diabetes is often seen as a condition affecting older, unproductive adults in wealthy countries. However, the reality is that 70% of people with diabetes now live in low and middle-income countries and the economic impact of diabetes is much greater in poorer countries. Yet the majority of the spending, 90% of all medical expenditures for diabetes care, is made in the United States, Canada, the countries of Western Europe, and other wealthy countries. This is the conclusion of the most comprehensive investigation of the economic impact of diabetes ever to be conducted in low and-middle-income countries.
The new data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) comes from researchers in five African countries who interviewed 2,300 men and women with type 2 diabetes and an additional 2,300 of their neighbours who did not have diabetes. The studies reveal that people with diabetes have roughly 3 times the rates of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and heart failure than their otherwise similar neighbours. People with diabetes also have; more tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria. All these diseases lead to very high out-of-pocket medical expenses and lost income due to complications such as blindness, paralysis, amputation, pain, cognitive deficits, and other disabling problems. One out of 6 of the people interviewed said that they could not work at all because of their health; 1 out of 3 said they could not work as much they wanted, and 3% said that they had to work more than they wanted to cover their medical expenses. 1 out of 5 reported that they were not able to buy much needed food because of medical expenses, and more than half said they could not buy all the medicines they needed.