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IDF Impact Study: People in Africa pay more for diabetes care, have poorer outcomes
One out of six people with diabetes said they cannot work because of their health.
20th World Diabetes Congress
People with diabetes living in Africa have approximately three times the rates of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and heart failure than their neighbors without diabetes, according to preliminary data from the International Diabetes Federation Impact Study presented today.
Current estimates indicate that 70% of people with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries, yet the high-income countries such as the United States, Canada and countries in Western Europe account for 90% of all medical expenditures for diabetes care.
Thus, the IDF Impact Study researchers interviewed 2,300 men and women with type 2 diabetes and 2,300 healthy neighbors living in five African countries: Cameroon, Kenya, Mali, South Africa and Tanzania.
Study results reveal that people with diabetes also have more malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in this region.
The increase in these diseases leads to high out-of-pocket medical expenses and lost income due to disabling diabetes-related complications such as amputation, blindness and cognitive deficits.
Interrupted employment, increased expenses
Additional findings indicated that people with diabetes living in Africa are much less able to function physically and work, are more frequent and intensive users of medical care and drain economic resources from their family and society. Among the findings:
- One out of six people with diabetes said they cannot work because of their health.
- One out of three people with diabetes said they could not work as much as they wanted.
- Three percent said they had to work more than they wanted to cover medical expenses.
- One out of five said they are not able to buy food because of medical expenses.
- More than half said they could not buy all the medicine they needed.
Further, 15% of family members had quit work to care for a family member with diabetes, 20% had to cut back on work, and 15% had to work more to contribute to diabetes-related costs and care for a family member.
“In the end, these family tragedies add up to a less educated and smaller workforce, greater social disorganization and slower economic growth,” Jonathon Betz Brown, PhD, chair of the IDF Task Force on Health Economics, said in a press release.
Similar studies are being conducted in 17 cities in China, Kazakhstan and Central America.
The researchers cautioned that these are preliminary results and data continue to be analyzed.
Read more highlights from the 20th World Diabetes Conference>>
