Economic Implications of Patient-Related Factors in Diabetes Care

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by high blood sugar levels with serious complications, particularly if it is not adequately treated. It is increasingly prevalent and burdensome from both a health and economic standpoint globally, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars in expenditure each year [1,2]. Also increasing are the numbers and types of pharmaceutical interventions being introduced to treat this disease. Over the next decade, numerous diabetes compounds currently in development are expected to be commercialized, making it essential for the most robust and accurate evidence to be available to healthcare decision-makers [3]. Approximately 90% of people with diabetes are diagnosed as Type 2 (T2D), most often in adulthood [4]. In contrast, Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients are commonly diagnosed as juveniles, but live well into adulthood with effective treatment [4]. Consequently, adult patients with diabetes, namely T2D, are responsible for most of the health and economic burden of this disease. Therefore, much of the effort to improve outcomes and reduce costs in diabetes concentrates on this population.