Nature Medicine· 2025Q1
The global macroeconomic burden of diabetes mellitus
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- Q1SCImago
- 2025year
Short summary
Diabetes mellitus will cost the global economy $10.2 trillion annually (0.22% of global GDP) by 2050, rising to $78.8 trillion when informal care is included.
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Key points
- Global economic burden of diabetes estimated at $10.2 trillion annually by 2050 (0.22% of global GDP) without informal care.
- Including informal care, the global economic burden of diabetes rises to an estimated $78.8 trillion annually by 2050.
- Economic impact includes losses in labor supply due to mortality and morbidity, treatment costs, and informal caregiving.
- The United States, China, and India face the highest absolute costs, while American Samoa and Australia bear the greatest relative and per capita burdens.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Diabetes mellitus poses a substantial and rising global health and economic burden, affecting more than one in ten adults worldwide. Using a health-augmented macroeconomic model across 204 countries and territories, we estimated the economic impact of diabetes from 2020 to 2050, incorporating losses in effective labor supply due to mortality and morbidity, treatment-related resource diversion and informal caregiving costs. Without informal care, the global burden amounts to $10.2 trillion (2017 international dollars (INT$)), equivalent to 0.22% of annual global gross domestic product. Including informal care, the burden increases dramatically to INT$78.8 trillion, ranging from INT$5.5 trillion to INT$152.1 trillion, depending on the assumptions for care. The absolute costs are highest in the United States, China and India, while relative and per capita burdens are greatest in countries such as American Samoa and Australia. These findings highlight the uneven distribution of diabetes' economic impact and underscore the urgent need for effective global interventions.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Nature Medicine, 2025 · DOI ↗
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Field: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management Economics and Econometrics
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and AccountingEconomics and Econometrics