Free Thinking
China’s chronic disease challenge
Marc Yates, Director of Emerging Markets, looks at the chronic disease challenge in China and asks what it means for China’s healthcare policy and to global pharmaceutical companies looking to operate in this double-digit growth market.
In 2012 the urban population exceeded the rural population for the first time. Urbanisation brings significant benefits such as improved sanitation, greater affordability and increased access to healthcare. It also changes the disease paradigm with a reduction of infectious diseases but an increase in diseases of affluence, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
The diabetes problem
Research from Peking University suggests that China now has more diabetes patients than even India and it is hitting the country hard. In 2007 almost 600,000 adult deaths in China were directly attributable to diabetes, and there was a significant gender difference, with males accounting for 57% of all diabetes-related deaths. And the diabetes problem is not getting any easier. The International Diabetes Federation predicts the health expenditure to increase by an average of 20% between 2007 to 2025 across the Western Pacific region. However during the same period spending on diabetes in China is forecasted to grow by 49%.
Health expenditure for diabetes
2007 US$ (‘000) 2025 US$ (‘000) % Increase
China Western Pacific
6,488,040 53,886,502
9,658,294 65,105,380
49% 20%
source International Diabetes Federation, Diabetes Atlas 2006
Our free thinker
Marc Yates, Director Asia Pacific and Emerging Markets
Marc Yates has 27 years of market research experience and has specialised in healthcare research since 1996. He lived and worked in Asia for 13 years, starting out in Shanghai before moving to Singapore. He
