[Impact of demographic changes on drug utilization related to diabetes in Aquitaine]

Diabetes is a chronic disease highly correlated to age. In 1998, the Sickness Find of the Aquitaine region has reimbursed 273 million French Francs for expenditures related to diabetes pharmaceuticals. The amount would increase to 300 million French Francs in 2005, a growth of nearly 10%, whereas the Aquitaine population would increase only 4%, from 2,909,000 in 1998 to 3,024,000 seven years later. The difference comes from population aging, as the calculations are undertaken "other things being equal": the insurance coverage rate, the disease prevalence rate, the consumption of pharmaceuticals per patient are supposed unchanged during the period.