Comorbid diseases influence drug costs for diabetes patients

PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 281 - 23 Sep 2000

Comorbid diseases influence drugcosts for diabetes patients

Patients with diabetes mellitus have significantlygreater medication costs than patients without thedisease, and the difference is not all down to antidiabeticagents, according to investigators from Finland.

The investigators found that the total annualmedication cost for 116 224 individuals who purchasedantidiabetic drugs in 1995 was 3.5-fold higher than foran equal number of age- and sex-matched individualswithout diabetes ($US127 million vs $US36 million).*However, antidiabetic agents accounted for just 41% ofthe total medication cost for patients with diabetes. Thetotal annual medication cost was $US1272/patient fortype 1 diabetes and $US1151/patient for type 2diabetes; 62 and 39% of the total was attributable toantidiabetic agents, respectively.

The costs for medications to treat conditions otherthan diabetes were partly due to a higher incidence ofhypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure andother cardiovascular diseases in patients with diabetes,compared with matched controls.* Medication costs (1995 values) comprised those related to drugacquisition and dispensing.

Reunanen A, et al. Nationwide survey of comorbidity, use, and costs of allmedications in Finnish diabetic individuals. Diabetes Care 23: 1265-1271, Sep2000 800844575

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 23 Sep 2000 No. 2811173-5503/10/0281-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved