ALEXANDRIA, Va. — People with diabetes spend an average $4,174 more every year on medical costs than those who don't have the disease, a gap that increases substantially each year following initial diagnosis, according to a study in the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes Care.
The study, by researchers at RTI International, also found that medical costs go up an additional $158 per year after diagnosis over and above the amount they would rise due to aging-related increases.
Diabetes-related complications such as heart and kidney disease are a main source for the increase in costs, the study said. But once the complications were controlled, researchers found the remaining cost increase was $75 each year, the bulk of which could be attributed to the increasing need for diabetes medications the longer a person lives with the disease.
"The good news is that many of these costs could be contained through proper diabetes management and lifestyle changes," said lead researcher Justin Trogdon. "Numerous studies show that losing weight and increasing physical activity, along with maintaining proper blood glucose levels, can substantially delay or reduce the risk for diabetes-related complications. What our study does is to point out that there is also a cumulative, financial impact to the progression of this disease."
Preventing the onset of diabetes would also help to reduce cumulative costs, since medical expenditures grow along with the duration of the disease, the researchers said.