Treating Type 2 Complications is Expensive
Cardiovascular and kidney disease are the most costly complications associated with type 2 diabetes. Annually, kidney-related complications in people with diabetes alone cost the U.S. healthcare system over $5 billion. In a recent issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed 11,768 individuals with type 2 diabetes over a nine-year period.
Their findings? The average annual cost of care (in 1993 dollars) for a 64-year-old man with no cardiovascular or kidney complications was $2,033 per year. Initiation of cardiovascular drug therapy and/or the services of a cardiologist added another $1,087 annually. If a heart attack occurred, the annual costs jumped to $9,385.
The onset of abnormal kidney function added $1,337 to the base cost. Progression to advanced kidney disease raised additional costs to $2,642, and progression to end-stage kidney failure (dialysis or kidney transplantation) escalated total costs to $15,675 per year.
Researchers say an aggressive treatment of high blood pressure is successful in reducing these complications associated with type 2 diabetes. They also suggest that novel therapeutic interventions be explored.