The Cost of Managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Greece: A Retrospective Analysis of 10-Year Patient Level Data “The HERCULES Study”

Abstract

Objective. This study aimed to estimate the mean annual cost of treating type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (T2DM) including complications and comorbidities in Greece. Design. A noninterventional retrospective study was based on patient level data analysis (bottom-up approach) from medical records, with at least 10-year-follow-up data. Results. The total annual cost per patient for managing diabetes in Greece was estimated at € 7,111 and was, statistically significantly, higher for patients with inadequate glycemic control (Hba1c>7%) versus patients with adequate control (Hba1c=7%) (€ 7,783 versus € 6,366, resp.; P=0.017). This was mainly attributed to difference in CV hospitalizations between groups 14/111 versus 4/100, respectively, OR=3.46 (95% CI: 1.10–10.9) for inadequately controlled patients. The largest component of cost was management of comorbidities, accounting for 48% of costs, and pharmaceutical treatment at 35.9% while only 14.9% was attributed to diabetes treatment per se. Obese men and patients with poor education are the groups with higher treatment costs. Conclusions. This is the first study to capture all cost components and the real burden of diabetes in Greece. Comorbidities were found to account for almost half of total cost, significantly higher in nonoptimally controlled diabetes patients.