ISLAMABAD: Chronic illnesses are putting a heavy toll on businesses, budgets and economies, and according to a new report released by the World Economic Forum, these diseases cost around $2 trillion in lost productivity each year across the world.

The report, titled “Enhancing Corporate Performance by Tackling Chronic Disease”, points out that chronic illnesses account for the lion’s share of healthcare costs in developed markets, and, increasingly, in emerging markets.

The report says that chronic disease has a significant impact on employee productivity, through increased absenteeism and presenteeism. To make matters worse, chronic illnesses are actually becoming more prevalent in almost all countries, it says.

The 15 most costly conditions account for more than 80 per cent of the total cost of all chronic illnesses. They are: diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, cancer, asthma, arthritis, allergies, sinusitis, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, depression and back pain.

Eight well-known behaviours were identified as the major contributors to the most costly illnesses: smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, alcohol consumption levels, poor standard-of-care compliance, poor stress management, insufficient sleep and lack of health screening.

US companies that target just three major risk factors on average can save $700 dollars per employee each year in healthcare costs and productivity improvements.

The savings in Europe are on average closer to 400 euros per employee, due to different healthcare and compensation patterns. In Asia, the average expense per employee is much lower, but the proportional impact of a wellness programme on company performance can be just as heavy.

The report says a new wave of workforce wellness is beginning to emerge, owing to three developments: the connection between modifiable behaviours and illnesses has come into sharp focus due to the accumulation of both empirical evidence and scientific studies; companies have become better at measuring the impact of interventions; and companies at the forefront of managing wellness have recognised the strategic value of addressing the behaviour that lead to or aggravate chronic illness.