Long term complications of Diabetes in the elderly: A trend analysis

Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in the US has reached epidemic proportions with an estimated 12 Million people diagnosed and up to 5.7 % Americans remaining undiagnosed. In this study we conduct a trend analysis of long term complications of DM along with associated costs related to treatment between 2004 and 2009. Method: We used data from the Broward Regional Health Planning Council on Prevention Quality Indicators- PQI-3 (2004 – 2009). We extracted data of patients 18 years and older with ICD-9-CM principal diagnosis code for long-term complications; renal, ocular, neurological, circulatory. We used excel for graphical representation of data. Results: In Florida, African Americans are disproportionately affected by long term DM complications (30%). Although the number of patients in the three age groups has remained relatively constant from 2004-2009, there has been a steady increase in cost of management of type 2 diabetes over this period. As of 2009 the average annual cost of treating long term complications of type 2 DM in Florida hospitals was 42,767 dollars. $34,653 in the 18-19 age group, $44,996 in the 40-64 age group and $ 42,314 in the 65 + group. Conclusion: High hospital service utilization among the elderly diabetic patients reflects a significant increase in DM related expenditure. In order to control these increasing costs, it is necessary to invest in, more aggressive preventive strategies, improved screening measures and better glycemic control through reliable patient proven and tested strategies. More research is however needed in this area.