Economic burden of diabetes mellitus in the WHO African region.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In 2000, the prevalence of diabetes among the 46 countries of the WHO African Region was estimated at 7.02 million people. Evidence from North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean indicates that diabetes exerts a heavy health and economic burden on society. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of such evidence in the WHO African Region. The objective of this study was to estimate the economic burden associated with diabetes mellitus in the countries in the African Region.

Methods

Drawing information from various secondary sources, this study used standard cost-of-illness methods to estimate: (a) the direct costs, i.e. those borne by the health systems and the families in directly addressing the problem; and (b) the indirect costs, i.e. the losses in

SUBMITTER: Kirigia JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2674592 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature