Chronic disease will cost $47 trillion by 2030

The five leading chronic diseases may have a global economic impact of $47 trillion over the next two decades, says a study from the World Economic Forum conducted with the Harvard School of Public Health. The five diseases are cancer, diabetes, mental illness, respiratory disease and heart disease, and already kill over 36 million people a year. The cumulative output loss they are expected to cost makes up about 4 per cent of annual global GDP over the next two decades. These diseases are often linked to diet, tobacco, alcohol and exercise.

Reuters