The burden of cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes are both major drivers of the global burden of disease. They are a complex set of diseases involving a wide array of health sectors that place considerable pressure on health systems across countries. describes the burden of CVD and diabetes across OECD countries and examines trends in mortality and morbidity burdens according to gender and age across countries over time. This chapter summarises recent findings that seek to explain some of these recent trends and then describes the economic burden of CVD and diabetes in terms of direct health care cost.