Direct Health Care Costs of Diabetic Patients in Spain

OBJECTIVE — The goal of this study was to estimate the health care resources spent by type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients in Spain during the year 2002. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS — This is a cost-of-illness study focusing on direct health care costs estimated from primary and secondary sources of information. A prev-alence of diabetes ranging from 5 to 6 % of the adult population was determined. Total cost is composed of six items: insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents, other drugs, disposable and consumable goods (glucose test strips, needles, and syringes), hospitalization, primary care visits, and visits to endocrinologists and dialysis. RESULTS — The estimated direct cost of diabetes in 2002 ranges from €2.4 to 2.67 billion. Hospital costs were the most (€933 million), followed by noninsulin, nonhypoglycemic agent drugs (€777–932 million). Much lower are the costs of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents (€311 million), primary care visits (€181–272 million), specialized visits (€127–145 million), and disposable elements (€70–81 million). Expenditures for all drugs and consumable goods ranged between €1.16 and 1.3 billion, representing 48–49 % of total cost, which is 15 % higher than hospital costs