Diabetes mellitus is an increasingly prevalent condition worldwide. Costs associated with treatment of both the primary disease and its common complications are known to be substantial. Therefore, effective prevention of such complications using appropriate interventions could save considerable costs, as resource use among patients with these complications occurs both within and outside the healthcare sector. Similarly, proper management of diabetic complications when they occur could contain both direct and indirect costs. These economic issues were examined in three studies presented at the 63rd Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association [New Orleans, Louisiana, US; June 2003].