Direct health care costs of diabetic patients in Spain.

Objective: The goal of this study was to estimate the health care resources spent by type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients in Spain during the year 2002.

Research Design And Methods: This is a cost-of-illness study focusing on direct health care costs estimated from primary and secondary sources of information. A prevalence of diabetes ranging from 5 to 6% of the adult population was determined. Total cost is composed of six items: insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents, other drugs, disposable and consumable goods (glucose test strips, needles, and syringes), hospitalization, primary care visits, and visits to endocrinologists and dialysis.

Results: The estimated direct cost of diabetes in 2002 ranges from 2.4 to 2.67 billion euro. Hospital costs were the most (933 million euro), followed by noninsulin, nonhypoglycemic agent drugs (777-932 million euro). Much lower are the costs of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents (311 million euro), primary care visits (181-272 million euro), specialized visits (127-145 million euro), and disposable elements (70-81 million euro). Expenditures for all drugs and consumable goods ranged between 1.16 and 1.3 billion euro, representing 48-49% of total cost, which is 15% higher than hospital costs.

Conclusions: The direct health care costs of diabetic patients are high (6.3-7.4% of total National Health System expenditure). Their average annual cost is 1,290-1,476 euro. For individuals without diabetes, the average annual cost is 865 euro.