The silent epidemic An economic study of diabetes in developed and developing countries

The silent epidemic An economic study of diabetes in developed and developing countries The silent epidemic: An economic study of diabetes in developed and developing countries countries is a report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Novo Nordisk. It examines the economic cost to the developed and developing world of a condition that is rapidly becoming one of the world's most serious health problems. Research undertaken for this report breaks down into two main areas. First, the Economist Intelligence Unit calculated the economic cost of diabetes to five countries: China 1 , Denmark, India, the United Kingdom and United States. This was compiled using published data from a range of sources (see page 26). The five countries examined were chosen on the basis that they represent economies of differing sizes, at various stages of their development and with a range of healthcare and social systems. The components of the economic cost were based on two main categories: direct healthcare costs (including the cost of treating complications of diabetes) and cost associated with lost productivity. The latter consists of foregone earnings related to mortality, morbidity and disability. Due to a lack of data, we did not calculate the costs related to informal care, such as care by relatives or in nursing homes. The second strand of research was a programme of in-depth interviews with leading figures from the diabetes community, including government officials, healthcare policy advisers, academics and senior figures from non-profit organisations. The Economist Intelligence Unit would like to thank the interviewees for their time and insight. The Economist Intelligence Unit bears sole, unrestricted responsibility for the content of this report. The Economist Intelligence Unit's editorial team carried out the research, conducted the interviews and wrote the report. The findings and views expressed in this report do not necessarily Preface 1. In the case of China, only the costs of lost productivity were calculated as data were not available for direct healthcare costs.