(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Major diabetes complications constitute a huge
economic burden to health care systems around the world, adding new evidence in
an area that has focused almost exclusively on cost estimates in the developed
world.
Philip Clarke from the University of Sydney in Australia and colleagues
estimated the direct costs of different diabetes-related problems to hospitals
in 20 low, middle and high-income countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the
Established Market Economies like Canada, Australia and those in Western Europe.
Using data from the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease (ADVANCE) study,
their analysis showed major diabetes complications such as stroke and heart
disease are a huge economic burden to health systems across all economic
regions.
Nearly all participants in the study who developed heart failure were
hospitalized, but only 15 percent of people were hospitalized for kidney
problems. Hospital stays were longest for stroke and shortest for kidney
problems. The chances of hospitalization for any complication were lowest in
Asia and highest in the Established Market Economies. Conversely, lengths of
stay were longest in Asia and shortest in the Established Market Economies.
Nearly 250 million people worldwide have diabetes and this number is increasing,
with three quarters of all people with diabetes living in the developing world.
The authors were quoted as saying that their new estimates can help inform
health care decisions, especially in lower-income countries with limited
resources.
SOURCE: PLoS Medicine, February 22, 2010
