Economic development and diabetes prevalence in MENAcountries： Egypt and Saudi Arabia comparison

Diabetes is increasing in epidemic proportions globally,exhibiting the most striking increase in third worldcountries with emerging economies. This phenomena isparticularly evident in the Middle East and North Africa（MENA） region, which has the highest prevalence ofdiabetes in adults. The most concerning indirect costof diabetes is the missed work by the adult populationcoupled with the economic burden of loss of productivity.The major drivers of this epidemic are the demographicchanges with increased life expectancy and lifestylechanges due to rapid urbanization and industrialization.Our focus is to compare MENA region countries,particularly Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in terms of theireconomic development, labor force diversity and theprevalence of diabetes.