OBJECTIVES: Circulatory complications of diabetes such as gangrene, ulcer, or angiopathy could be associated with significant decrease in quality of life and can increase individual and health insurance costs. Our aim was to determine the epidemiological disease burden of type 2 diabetes with peripheral circulatory complications in Hungary.

METHODS: Data were derived from the financial database of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration, for the year 2018. Data analysed included annual patient numbers, case numbers and prevalence of care utilisation per 100.000 population according to age groups and sex. The following health insurance treatment categories were included into our study: general practice care, home care, in- and outpatient care, medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, drugs and medical aids. Patients were identified with the following code of the International Classification of Diseases 10^th revision: E1150.

RESULTS: The highest patient numbers were in outpatient care: 4,874 men, 3,545 women, in total 8,419 patients, followed by general practice care (4,177 men, 3,308 women, in total 7,485 patients), and the use of pharmaceuticals (2,623 men, 2,005 women, in total 4,628 patients). Based on patient numbers in pharmaceuticals, prevalence in 100,000 among men was 56.1 patients, among women 39.3, in total 47.3 patients. Apart from the >70-year-old group, men tend to have higher patient numbers, and they also have higher prevalence in all age groups. Patient numbers increase dramatically above 60 years: they account for 79.56% of the patient population. Regarding sex, in outpatient care 57.9% were men, 42.1% were women, while in the use of pharmaceuticals 56.7% were men and 43.3% were women.

CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of these types of complications was 1.43 times higher in men than in women. Prevention and timely treatment of circulatory complications are crucial to reduce the mortality from diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases.