The cost of treating type 2 diabetes (CODEIRE)

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Public Health
• Health Economics

Background:

• Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a prevalent chronic metabolic disease, contributing significantly to global morbidity and mortality.
• Increasing rates of obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and an aging population are fueling a T2D epidemic, raising concerns about healthcare system costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the direct healthcare costs associated with managing T2D in Ireland.
• To analyze the cost drivers and the impact of complications on T2D management expenses.

Main Methods:

• A bottom-up, prevalence-based study design was employed.
• Data were collected over 12 months (1999/2000) from 701 T2D patients across four Irish diabetes centers.
• Included hospital resource use and clinical outcome measures for patients receiving usual care.

Main Results:

• Estimated annual direct costs for diagnosed T2D were €377.2 million (4.1% of healthcare expenditure), rising to €580.2 million (6.4%) for diagnosed and undiagnosed cases.
• Hospitalizations constituted nearly half of the total costs, with ambulatory and drug costs at 27% and 25%, respectively.
• Patients with microvascular and macrovascular complications incurred 1.8 and 2.9 times higher annual care costs, respectively, compared to those without complications.

Conclusions:

• T2D is a substantial financial burden on healthcare systems, primarily due to the costs of managing its complications.
• Preventable diabetes-related complications significantly increase healthcare expenditure.
• Investing in T2D prevention and the management of its complications is a cost-effective strategy for government health policy.