--- title: Diabetes: The Most Expensive Place in the World to Be Diabetic description: The U.S. is the most expensive place to have diabetes, according to a new study. canonical: https://time.com/3745988/diabetes-expensive/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-17T00:01:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:03.144Z article:section: Health og:title: The Most Expensive Place in the World to Have Diabetes og:description: The U.S. is the most expensive place to have diabetes, according to a new study. og:url: https://time.com/3745988/diabetes-expensive/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Most Expensive Place in the World to Have Diabetes twitter:description: The U.S. is the most expensive place to have diabetes, according to a new study. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Most Expensive Place in the World to Have Diabetes > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=f842f3aa-d3b0-41a9-ab45-67c71996f2a0&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 17, 2015 12:01 AM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Mar 17, 2015 12:01 AM UTC The U.S. is the most expensive place to have Type 2 diabetes, with an average lifetime price tag of $283,000, according to [a new study](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40273-015-0268-9) published in the journal _PharmacoEconomics_. Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) analyzed 109 studies on the economic impact of Type 2 diabetes and found that costs are higher in the U.S., even compared with other countries with similar income levels. “Employment chances for women with diabetes in the U.S. are decreased by almost half,” said study author Till Seuring of UEA’s Norwich Medical School in a statement. “Women with diabetes also lose out on $21,392 in earnings per year — the highest loss due to diabetes worldwide,” In other countries, men with diabetes suffer more when it comes to employment options, the data shows. Still, the U.S. appears to be an exception. Diabetes has the greatest economic toll for people in low- and middle-income countries, the research finds. Most new cases are appearing in countries in this economic stratum, including Mexico, India and China. Diabetes affects over 380 million people worldwide, the researchers say. That number is expected to balloon to 592 million people by 2035. Check out the findings in the infographic below.  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