India faces the second highest economic burden due to diabetes of USD 11.4 trillion -- the United States bears the highest costs at USD 16.5 trillion, and China the third at USD 11 trillion, a new study has estimated. "Caregivers often drop out of the labour market, at least partially, which creates additional economic costs," author Klaus Prettner, professor of macroeconomics and digitalisation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, said. "The United States faces the largest economic burden of diabetes mellitus at INT$ 2.5 trillion, followed by India at INT$ 1.6 trillion and China at INT$ 1.0 trillion. When considering informal care loss, the largest economic burdens are INT$ 16.5 trillion in the United States, INT$ 11.4 trillion in India and INT$ 11.0 trillion in China," the authors wrote. For India and China, the high economic costs of diabetes were mainly attributed to a large affected population, while those in the US were primarily due to high treatment costs and physical capital diversion, the researchers said.

Source: The Hindu January 12, 2026 10:42 UTC