Economic Burden Associated With CVD in Patients With T1D

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) are common in people with type 1 diabetes and are linked with considerably higher health care costs, according to a study published online in PharmacoEconomics – Open. 

“This analysis of real-world data on the disease prevalence and economic outcomes associated with CVRF and CVD in type 1 diabetes from a large US managed care program database showed that more than one in five adults with type 1 diabetes have CVD, and that more than two in five have CVRF,” researchers wrote. “These patients with CVD or CVRF have higher health care expenditures vs those without these comorbidities.”

The retrospective observational study included 12,687 patients with type 1 diabetes in the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart database. Among them, 27% had CVD and 44% had CVRF.

Patients with type 1 diabetes without CVD or CVRF had per-patient per-year all-cause health care costs of $11,761, compared with $16,220 for patients with type 1 diabetes with CVRF and $30,241 for those with CVD, according to the study. Diabetes-related costs per-patient per-year were $7113 for patients without CVD or CVRF, $9453 for patients with CVRF, and $17,756 for patients with CVD.  

Fewer patients without CVD or CVRF had emergency department visits or inpatient stays, the study found, compared with patients with CVD or CVRF.  

“Potentially, better management of CVD and/or related risk factors in type 1 diabetes could significantly reduce the economic burden and improve outcomes for these patients,” researchers concluded.

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference

Edelman S, Zhou FL, Preblick R, et al. Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in Adult Patients with Type 1 Diabetes in the US [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jan 29]. Pharmacoecon Open. 2020;10.1007/s41669-019-00192-9. doi:10.1007/s41669-019-00192-9