In a January 2008 press conference held on Capitol Hill, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) announced the findings of a study by The Lewin Group which estimates the national economic burden of diabetes at $174 billion in 2007. This economic burden consists of approximately $116 billion in additional health care expenditures attributed to diabetes, and $58 billion in lost productivity from absenteeism, reduced productivity, permanent disability, and premature mortality. Leaders from the Congressional Diabetes Caucus and diabetes experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health participated in announcing the study findings and discussing the implications.

This study is an update of a 2003 Lewin Group study for ADA, which estimated the economic burden of diabetes at $132 billion in 2002. Click here to view a copy of the report which is published in the March 2008 issue of Diabetes Care. 

As an additional tool to help communicate the significant economic toll of diabetes, The Lewin Group worked with ADA to develop a diabetes cost calculator that provides estimates of the prevalence and economic burden of diabetes at the state and congressional district level.  Click here to access the online cost calculator.