Diabetes linked to obesity driving up hospital costs

Diabetes linked to obesity driving up hospital costs
By Arielle Levin Becker
People with diabetes make up less than 8 percent of the population, but they represented nearly 20 percent of U.S. hospitalizations in 2008, according to a new report by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
While the bulk of hospitalizations involving diabetics occurred for other conditions, the report noted that because diabetes increases the amount of time patients spend in the hospital, it increases the costs whether the patient is there because of diabetes or another condition.
The report says that the cost of caring for diabetics accounted for 23 percent of the money hospitals spent treating all conditions that year.
"The numbers, I think, tell the story," said Dr. Emmanuel Javier, medical director of the Diabetes Care Center at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford. "The problem is diabetes is just increasing in incidence here, and obviously we’re going to spend a lot more money on diabetes as a society."
An estimated 90 to 95 percent of diabetes cases are type 2 diabetes, a condition linked to obesity that can, in many cases, be delayed or prevented. It used to be known as adult-onset diabetes, but increasingly has been found in children and teenagers.
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But better managing the disease in patients who already have it could make a significant dent in complications, deaths and health care costs, the report said. A 10 percent drop in the number of diabetic patients failing to meet goals in three key indicators – blood pressure, HDL cholesterol and hemoglobin A1C – could lead to 48,000 fewer diabetes-related complications, 9,700 fewer deaths, and more than $39 billion in savings in 2031.
A 50 percent drop in uncontrolled diabetes, meanwhile, could produce 239,000 fewer complications, 48,700 fewer deaths, and save $196.5 billion.
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https://www.ctmirror.org/story/7424/diabetes-costs-823oldId.20100823140101661