In countries without healthcare, such as the United States of America, it is estimated that an average person who is suffering from diabetes spends over 4,000 dollars more every year in medical expenses than those who do not suffer from the condition. This is not the end of the story when it comes to the financial picture of diabetes, however, there are also a number of non-medical costs associated with having the disease. These include the decrease in earning potential, as some diabetics are restricted in the type of work that they can do, because of their condition, and their job prospects can be affected.
Financial wellbeing is not often considered, when people are quantifying the effects of diabetes, but a recent study shows that it is almost as significant a factor as wellness-related effects, for those living with the condition long-term.
The study was published in the Health Affairs journal, and was carried out in association with Dr. Michael Richards, who works in the department of health policy and administration at Yale University. The findings were taken from a national study of adolescent health, which gathered information from around 15,000 people over a period of 14 years. This study highlighted important findings, such as the fact that those with diabetes were less likely to complete their high school career (around six percent dropped out) and were also less likely to go on and attend college after school. In addition to this, by the age of about 30, the diabetics in the survey were around 10 percent less likely to have a job, due at least in part to their reduced opportunities to gain a good education.
This, coupled with the increased medical costs of having to pay for a lifetime treatment for the debilitating condition, can mean that diabetes hits people very hard in a financial sense, and this is something for which there needs to be greater awareness.
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