Diabetes is costing Germany roughly $73 billion a year in health treatment and early retirement, a German university research group says.
Nearly one-third of the costs are avoidable if people with diabetes would lead a healthier lifestyle and would use more efficient therapy methods, the research group of Cologne University found.
The 473 billion figure includes therapy costs, costs resulting from being unemployable and early retirement pays, the German financial daily Handelsblatt reported Friday. It's the first time a cost-related diabetes study was done in Germany, the newspaper said.
World Health Organization data show that, in 2004, more than 150 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, a disease often involving an insular deficiency and increased sugar in body fluids.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
