Type two diabetes is costing New Zealand more than two-billion dollars a year
Type two diabetes is costing New Zealand more than two-billion dollars a year
16 March 2021
About five-percent of Kiwis have the disease... but a PWC report predicts the number will grow by up to 90-percent in 20 years.
It's set to increase the public cost for treating the illness by 63-percent - up to 3.5 billion dollars.
An Otago University medical professor reveals those costs mostly go toward hospital care, for heart disease and kidney failure.
Jim Mann says there's also about six-hundred foot amputations a year - which is expensive and affects quality of life.
He says there needs to be better foot care and treatment for people with diabetes in some regions.
© 2025 Newstalk ZB, NZCity
