Healthcare resource use and associated costs of hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes prescribed sulfonylureas.

Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate diabetes-related healthcare resource use and associated costs in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) treated with a sulfonylurea (SU), with and without hypoglycemia.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, patients 18years or older receiving SU monotherapy or as add-on to metformin were identified from a US healthcare claims database (MarketScan®). Of 113,743 patients (56.8% male, average age 62.6years), 61.6% were on SU/metformin dual therapy and 38.4% were on SU monotherapy, and 5% had one or more episodes of hypoglycemia during the 12-month follow-up period.

Results: Adjusted for baseline characteristics, patients with hypoglycemia were three times more likely than those without to use emergency room services (OR 3.04, 95% CI: 2.82, 3.25), almost four times more likely to have inpatient admissions (OR 3.84, 95% CI: 3.58, 4.12), and had more frequent physician office visits (4.3 vs 3.0 visits, p<0.01) in the 12-month follow-up period. The adjusted annual diabetes-related medical expenditure was three times higher in patients with hypoglycemia compared with those without ($6884 vs $2392, p<0.001).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated the higher healthcare utilization and costs associated with hypoglycemia in patients with T2DM treated with an SU.