The societal impact of early intensified treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The current study estimates the societal impact of early intensified treatment compared with initial monotherapy with subsequent treatment intensification in newly diagnosed adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Mexico. An individual patient-level simulation and a static cohort model were employed to simulate the treatment pathway and the probability of experiencing complications of diabetes. The avoided number of events was translated into avoided productivity losses, which were monetized using wages. Patients on early intensified treatment experienced approximately 13,000 fewer complication events over 10 years. This was translated into a societal impact of $54 million (USD). Early treatment intensification is likely to be of particular benefit to health outcomes and productivity losses.