The Rising Cost of Type 2 Diabetes
by Jennifer Bunn, RNThe rapidly increasing numbers of type 2 diabetics in the US are being blamed for the inflated price tag of $218 billion, which is the estimated cost of pre-diabetes and diabetes for 2007. An analysis spear-headed by the Changing Diabetes Program (NCDP) studied both the direct costs of medical care required for diabetics and the indirect causes, such as absenteeism and lost productivity.
The cost of type 2 diabetes was found to be $10,000.00 per person (annual), while the cost of pre-diabetes was only $443.00 annually. The message here is that it is important to prevent those with pre-diabetes from advancing to full-blown type 2 diabetes, with its attendant costs and complications. How can this be done? The answer is to focus on prevention, particularly weight loss and moderate exercise, which may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by almost 60%.
The cost of pre-diabetes and diabetes is borne by all citizens in the form of higher health care premiums. Furthermore, it is estimated that in the US, the diabetes population will double in the next 25 years, and that the cost of this increase will reach $336 billion by 2034 (American Diabetes Association). These figures make it that much more imperative that we all work together to develop programs to prevent diabetes.
