of Type 2 Diabetes Complications in America People with diabetes complications pay nearly $1,600 out of their own pockets …
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First-of-its-Kind National Report Reveals Estimated High Prevalence and
Heavy Cost
of Type 2 Diabetes Complications in America
In Response, Health Organizations Unite to Help Educate on Good Diabetes
Management
and How to Reduce the Risk of Other Serious Health Problems
Seattle, WA, April 10, 2007 - A first-of-its-kind report looking at the
prevalence and cost of type 2 diabetes complications shows that an
estimated three out of five people 579 percent with type 2 diabetes have
at least one of the other serious health problems commonly associated with
the disease, and that these health problems are taking a heavy financial
toll on the United States In 2006, the nation spent an estimated 229
billion on direct medical costs related to diabetes complications
The new report, titled State of
Diabetes Complications in America, also
shows that estimated annual healthcare costs for a person with type 2
diabetes complications are about three times higher than that of the
average American without diagnosed diabetes These complications, which
can include heart disease, stroke, eye damage, chronic kidney disease and
foot problems that can lead to amputations, cost a person with type 2
diabetes almost 10,000 each year People with diabetes complications pay
nearly 1,600 out of their own pockets for costs that are not reimbursed by
insurance, such as co-payments and deductibles This amount is
significant, considering that according to the National Health Interview
Survey, an estimated 40 percent of adults with diabetes reported a family
income of less than 35,000 per year in 2005
Results from the report were released today at the American Association of
Clinical Endocrinologists AACE 16th Annual Meeting and Clinical
Congress, by AACE in partnership with the members of a diabetes
complications consortium: the Amputee Coalition of America, Mended Hearts,
the National Federation of the Blind and the National Kidney Foundation,
and supported by GlaxoSmithKline
Cost estimates
in this report were adjusted for inflation to reflect 2006
costs
The State of Diabetes Complications in America is an analysis of national
health and economic data specific to type 2 diabetes complications, and was
developed as a follow-up to a 2005 AACE study showing that two out of three
Americans with type 2 diabetes analyzed in a study had elevated blood sugar
levels, which can lead to diabetes complications
Many people with type 2 diabetes develop more than one health complication
associated with the disease The new report shows that an estimated one
out of three people 333 percent with
the disease has one other serious health problem; one out of ten people
103 percent with the disease has two other serious health problems; one
out of 15 people 67 percent with
the disease has three other serious health problems; one out of 13 people
76 percent has
four or more other serious health problems
The report makes it clear that we have a major national issue when it
comes to diabetes management, and that urgent action is needed, said
Daniel Einhorn, MD, FACE, and Secretary of the Board of Directors of AACE
People with type 2 diabetes need to achieve and maintain good blood
glucose
levels over time to improve their chances of reducing the risk of
these serious complications
The State of Diabetes Complications in America report synthesizes data from
two large national studies to examine the issue of diabetes-related
complications in the United States Data on the prevalence of diabetes-
related complications were derived from the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey NHANES and combined with economic data from the
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey MEPS
The report estimates that in people with diabetes, there are specific
health problems that are more prevalent than in people with normal blood
sugar levels The prevalence of macrovascular problems, or those related to
the heart and large blood vessels, in people with diabetes vs people with
normal blood sugar levels is as follows:
Congestive heart failure occurs in 79 percent of people with diagnosed
diabetes vs 11 percent of people without diabetes
Heart attack occurs in 98 percent of people with diabetes vs 18
percent without diabetes
Coronary heart disease occurs in 91 percent of people with diabetes vs
21 percent without diabetes
Stroke occurs in 66 percent of people with
diabetes vs 18 percent
without diabetes
In terms of microvascular complications, which relate to small blood
vessels, the prevalence is as follows:
Chronic kidney disease[1] occurs in 278 percent of people with diabetes
vs 61 percent without diabetes
Foot problems such as foot/toe amputation, foot lesions and numbness in
the feet occur in 228 percent of people with diabetes vs 10 percent
without diabetes
Eye damage[2] occurs in 189 percent of people with diabetes figures for
eye damage in people without diabetes are not available in NHANES
While type 2 diabetes is closely tied to the development of these
complications, it is possible that some people may have developed these
health problems independent of their diabetes, due to family history or
other underlying medical conditions
Beyond the impact on quality of life, health complications from type 2
diabetes also contribute to substantial national and individual healthcare
costs, said Willard G Manning, PhD, Professor, Harris School of Public
Policy Studies at the University of Chicago My hope is that the report
will call attention to the issue of diabetes-related complications and
bring about change in
the way we manage type 2 diabetes to help reduce both
the physical and financial burdens
Regarding annual healthcare costs for people with type 2 diabetes, heart
attack is the most costly complication, at 14,150 per person, followed by
chronic kidney disease3 9,002; congestive heart failure 7,932;
stroke 7,806; coronary heart disease 6,062; foot problems4 4,687;
and eye damage5 1,785
As great as these financial burdens are, this is a conservative estimate,
as it only includes direct medical costs, adds Manning Costs attributed
to lost employment or productivity, premature death and disability have not
been included, and if we factor in those costs, the overall burden would be
far greater
About Good Diabetes Management
The risk of developing the serious health complications associated with
type 2 diabetes can be reduced People with type 2 diabetes should work
with their healthcare provider to develop a personal diabetes management
plan A good plan includes healthy eating and regular physical activity,
but these lifestyle changes alone may not be enough to lower blood sugar
adequately Many people with type 2 diabetes also may need one or more
medicines Some medicines work
together in different ways to control blood
sugar levels People should track how their diabetes plan is working by
monitoring their blood sugar regularly and checking with their doctor to
see if lifestyle or medicine changes need to be made Blood sugar
monitoring should be done with a blood glucose meter and by getting an A1c
test AACE recommends an A1c target level of 65 percent or lower
Reaching this target is important since every one percent increase above
six percent significantly elevates a persons risk of serious
complications
About the Diabetes Complications Consortium
The diabetes complications consortium was formed to provide helpful
information to people with type 2 diabetes about how to reduce the risk of
the health complications associated with the disease, as well as support
and encouragement to people who have experienced these serious health
problems The members of the diabetes complications consortium include the
Amputee Coalition of America, the National Federation of the Blind, the
National Kidney Foundation and Mended Hearts, a nationwide heart patient
support group affiliated with the American Heart Association Through
distribution and awareness of the
report, the diabetes complications
consortium hopes to help people with type 2 diabetes, especially those at
high risk for developing diabetes-related complications, recognize the
importance of controlling their blood sugar levels and working with their
doctor to develop a good diabetes management plan
People can learn more about managing type 2 diabetes and how to reduce the
risk of diabetes-related complications by visiting wwwstateofdiabetescom
About Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed diabetes
cases and affects more than 18 million people in the United States Type 2
diabetes is a chronic, progressive and serious disease that occurs either
when the body does not produce enough insulin or when the body does not
respond properly to its natural insulin As a result, sugar builds up in
the blood and over time, high levels of blood sugar can lead to a variety
of serious diabetes-related complications including: heart disease, stroke,
eye damage, kidney disease and foot problems that can lead to amputations
About the Campaign Sponsor
GlaxoSmithKline has provided funding and other support for the State of
Diabetes Complications in America
campaign to the American Association of
Clinical Endocrinologists and members of the consortium GlaxoSmithKline,
one of the worlds leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare
companies, is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling
people to do more, feel better and live longer
Note to Editor: To assess the prevalence of complications, data for the
State of Diabetes Complications in America report were taken from the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey NHANES 1999-2004, a
nationally representative survey of non-institutionalized, US civilians
NHANES is a major program of the National Center for Health Statistics
NCHS, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC NHANES collects detailed medical information from roughly 5,000
people each year For the report, the NHANES data are combined with
economic information from the 2000, 2002 and 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey MEPS, which is cosponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality and the NCHS MEPS began in 1996 compiling detailed information
on healthcare utilization and expenditures Data has been collected by
MEPS through 2004 Cost estimates
in this report were adjusted for
inflation to reflect 2006 costs Adults over the age of 20 were included
in the NHANES and MEPS analyses and no distinction could be made between
type 1 and type 2 diabetes populations However, because type 2 diabetes
accounts for 90-95 percent of diagnosed diabetes cases, results from the
NHANES and MEPS analyses include mostly people with type 2 diabetes By
examining both studies together, the State of Diabetes Complications in
America report gives a comprehensive overview of the impact of diabetes-
related complications in the US
———————–
1 In the NHANES study, chronic kidney disease refers to people with
microalbuminuria albumim:creatinine ratio 30 ug/mg
2 Eye damage includes a positive response by NHANES participants to the
question, Have you been told diabetes has affected your eyes/had
retinopathy? Retinopathy is damage to the eyes retina
3 Costs for kidney disease in MEPS do not include the institutionalized
population Costs do include dialysis patients
4 In the MEPS analysis, foot problems does not include costs for foot/toe
amputations as these could not
be identified in the MEPS public-use
database Additionally, costs for prosthetics are not included
5 In the MEPS economic analysis, eye damage includes retinopathy,
glaucoma, cataracts and blindness
Cost estimates in this report were adjusted for inflation to reflect 2006
costs
