Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the direct medical costs of type 2 diabetes mellitus with or without complications, and to determine the economic impact of complications on type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional study of prevalent type 2 diabetes carried out in four major cities of China. The study populations were 1530 outpatients and 524 inpatients from clinics or wards of a total of 20 hospitals, using a two-phase subject enrolment process, by face-to-face interview with a unique questionnaire.

Results

The annual direct medical cost per patient was estimated to be 4800 Chinese Yuan (CNY) in median or 10,164 CNY in mean. There is a difference between annual direct medical costs for patients with or without complications (6056 vs. 3583 CNY; P 0.001).

Conclusions

The high economic burden raised by diabetes and its complications challenges the Chinese health-care system. It implicates an urgent need of intervention to prevent the development of long-term complications among the diabetic population, especially on the development of complications in high-cost body system.