Type 2 diabetes reduces people's employment chances and wages around the world, according to the results of a new study from the University of East Anglia, supported by the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR). In an effort that is detailed in an online open-access article at the link provided below, researchers studied the economic impact of type II diabetes worldwide. [Note that a video description of the research is also provided at a link provided below.] The scientists were surprised to find not only a large cost burden in high-income countries, but also in low and middle-income countries, where people with type 2 diabetes and their families face high costs for treatment. While it is widely known that type 2 diabetes poses a huge health challenge, awareness of its impact on the global economy and labor markets has never before been studied in such detail. The research team looked at data from 109 studies in the largest and most up-to-date global review of the economic impact of type 2 diabetes. Headline figures include the following: people with type 2 diabetes in the US have the highest healthcare costs, with an estimated lifetime cost of approximately $283,000. These costs are higher than those in others countries with comparable per capita income levels; worldwide, type 2 diabetes hits the poor the hardest, with a higher cost burden for people in low- and middle-income countries; two thirds of all new cases of type 2 diabetes are now in low- and middle-income countries such as China, India, Mexico, and Egypt; men with type 2 diabetes have worse employment opportunities globally. The impact for women appears to be less adverse, except for in the US, where their employment chances decreased by almost half; and the costs associated with type 2 diabetes increase over time with increasing disease severity.
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