Well, it's official: Diabetes costs Americans more than ANY other disease, including heart disease.

albertabeefy

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/27/diabetes-costing-americans-more-than-any-other-disease.html

The sad thing is how much less-costly treatment can be (whether Type I or Type II) simply by engaging in carbohydrate restriction.

RalfLott

Gadzooks!

I wonder how diabetes-related costs were defined.... Even though ischemic heart disease is listed separately, a good chunk of the cost of treating CVD must be connected to patients' poor glycemic control.

neohdiver

First - it is pretty common, so even relatively low costs will cost more overall because of quantity.

And little things add up. The test strips I use retail for $127/box. I use 2.4 boxes per month. That's $3600/year. Instead of one mandatory visit a year, I have two visits. That's an extra $150/year (plus testing, whichI don't know off the top of my head). Most diabetics are put on statins and anti-hypertensive medications and metformin. That's another $700/year. An eye exam every year is also added - another $150 or so.

I'm about the best diabetic a doctor could hope to see - and my additional medical costs each and every year are about $5000 over my costs before diabetes.

In addition, anytime I am treated for other diseases, diabetes comes into play. In the course of treatment for cancer, I had to have several kidney function tests prior to contrast MRIs because diabetes puts kidney damage into play. Because my diabetes is well-controlled, it didn't impact actual costs much - but had my diabetes been out of control there would have been the potential for delayed healing post-surgery and additional care. Before I lost the weight in connection with diabetes self-care, the radiation would have created hot spots - creating additional skin damage (again potential for skin care costs). Hot spots (more than 15% above the treatment dosage) increase the risk of radiation induced sarcomas. Had I required reconstruction, out-of-control would have required two surgeries (rather than one), and so on.

Add the diseases that diabetes causes (neuropathy and kidney damage) plus those to which it is closely linked (heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension). Multiply that by the number of people in the US who have diabetes. It's pretty easy to see why it is the most costly disease.

RalfLott

<refresh>