The global economic burden of diabetes for 190 countries 2021-50: a macroeconomic modelling study

Diabetes imposes a substantial health burden, yet its macroeconomic consequences remain incompletely quantified. Here we use a health-augmented macroeconomic model to estimate output losses attributable to diabetes across 190 countries and territories during 2021-2050. We project that diabetes could reduce cumulative global output by 5.177 trillion international dollars over this period, with substantial heterogeneity in relative losses as a share of GDP across countries. Country-level burdens vary markedly, reflecting heterogeneity in demographic trends, macroeconomic conditions, diabetes prevalence, health-system capacity and treatment costs. Most projected output loss is attributable to diabetes-related disability rather than premature mortality. In this work, we provide comparable cross-country estimates of the long-run macroeconomic burden of diabetes, informing prioritization of prevention, treatment policies, and related investments.