ORIGINAL PAPER Costs of diabetes and its complications in Poland

Objective Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major health problem with severe complications and a significant impact on quality of life. It constitutes an enormous burden of disease due to high prevalence, severe co-morbidities and high costs for society. This study is the first comprehensive study on the direct and indirect costs of DM (type 1 and type 2) and associated complications in Poland. Methods In order to estimate the direct medical costs of DM and its complications, including the costs of medical consultation, hospitalisation, rehabilitation, drugs and med-ical equipment, data from the National Health Fund were used. Indirect costs on loss of productivity due to diabetes and its complications were based on data obtained from the ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) and from GUS (Poland’