Diabetes mellitus medication use and catastrophic healthcare expenditure among adults aged 50+ years in China and India: results from the WHO study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE).

Background: Expenditure on medications for highly prevalent chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus (DM) can result in financial impoverishment. People in developing countries and in low socioeconomic status groups are particularly vulnerable. China and India currently hold the world's two largest DM populations.