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Direct diabetes-related costs in young patients with early-onset, long-lasting type 1 diabetes

Christina Bächle1, Andrea Icks, Klaus Straßburger

  • 1Institute for Biometrics and Epidemiology, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Institute for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany. christina.baechle@ddz.uni-duesseldorf.de

Plos One
|August 23, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Direct healthcare costs for pediatric type 1 diabetes patients in Germany averaged €3,745 annually. Key expenses included glucose monitoring, insulin pump therapy, and hospitalizations, highlighting areas for cost optimization.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Health Economics
  • Diabetes Management

Background:

  • Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children requires lifelong management and incurs significant healthcare costs.
  • Early-onset T1D, diagnosed in children aged 0-4 years, presents unique long-term management challenges.
  • Understanding direct healthcare costs is crucial for resource allocation and healthcare policy in pediatric T1D.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the direct diabetes-related healthcare costs in pediatric patients with early-onset T1D in Germany.
  • To identify the primary cost drivers within this patient cohort.
  • To explore demographic and clinical factors associated with variations in healthcare costs.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of a population-based cohort of 1,473 children with T1D onset (0-4 years) from 1993-1999.
  • Inclusion of data up to December 31, 2007, with a mean diabetes duration of 10.9 years.
  • Utilization of a nationwide prospective documentation system (DPV) to track healthcare services and associated costs from the statutory health insurance perspective.

Main Results:

  • Mean annual direct diabetes-related healthcare costs were €3,745 per patient-year.
  • Major cost categories included glucose self-monitoring (28.5%), continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (25.0%), hospitalizations (22.1%), and insulin (18.4%).
  • Higher costs were associated with female gender, pubertal age, and poor glycemic control; lower costs were linked to a migration background.

Conclusions:

  • Glucose self-monitoring, insulin pump therapy, hospitalizations, and insulin represent the primary direct costs in long-duration pediatric T1D.
  • Optimizing glycemic control, especially during puberty, through intensified care, education, and tailored regimens can reduce direct costs.
  • These findings emphasize the economic impact of pediatric T1D and the potential for cost savings through improved management strategies.
Abstract

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