OBJECTIVES

: Diabetes is a widespread chronic disease throughout the world with an increasing prevalence rate, causing a substantial economic burden. The objective of this study was to estimate the socio-economic burden of Diabetes in Italy from Social Security System perspective from 2014 to 2019.

METHODS

: The economic analysis was based on the costs due to the benefits provided by the National Social Security Institute (INPS) for patients with Diabetes. In particular, the analysis is focused on two types of social security benefits: Disability Benefit (DB), for workers whose working capacity is reduced by at least a third due to physical or mental illness, and Incapacity Pension (IP), for workers who are completely and permanently unable to return to any working activity. Data were derived from the database of disability insurance awards of the Italian National Institute of Social Security (INPS), and all the applicants with a primary diagnosis of Diabetes were selected. Beneficiaries and costs induced by patients with Diabetes, between 2014 and 2019 in Italy, were estimated through a probabilistic model with a Monte Carlo simulation.

RESULTS

: Our study estimated, from 2014 to 2019, a number of almost 74,000 beneficiaries (12,300 on average every year) of social security benefits suffering from Diabetes in Italy, about 67,700 (92%) for DBs and 6,200 (8%) for IPs. These benefits involve a total social security expenditure of € 715.3 million in the considered period (about € 120 million per year). The DBs and IPs annual costs (€ 105 million and € 14 million per year respectively) increased by 67% and 53% from 2014 to 2019.

CONCLUSIONS

: The analysis focused on the economic impact of Diabetes in Italy from the Social Security System perspective, demonstrating that it represents a significant cost item to take into consideration.