There is much less information on the indirect costs of diabetes, ie cost of lost production, compared to data on direct costs partly because of the methodological difficulties involved in its collection. When indirect costs have been calculated, they have been estimated as around the same, sometimes more than direct costs. For example, in an American Diabetes Association study1American Diabetes Association. Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2002. Diabetes Care 2003; 26:917-932. in 2002, indirect costs were estimated to be US$39.8 billion compared with direct costs of US$91.8 billion and compared with a previous estimate of indirect costs of US$54 billion.
In a study of 30,000 people in Manitoba, Canada, the 600 individuals who had diabetes were twice as likely not to be in the work force as those without diabetes2Kraut A, Walld R, Tate R, Mustard C. Impact of Diabetes on Employment and Income in Manitoba, Canada. Diabetes Care 2001; 24:64-68.. Predicted increases in the prevalence of diabetes worldwide emphasize the fact that the economically productive age groups within society will be particularly affected. Given these predictions, the effects on lost production are likely to be considerable and need to be quantified more extensively.
Considerable interest is currently being shown in information of intangible costs (quality of life) and standardized methods to obtain this are becoming available. Again, however, the data available are sparse.