Estimating the current and future costs of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in the UK, including direct health costs and indirect societal and productivity costs

Diabet. Med. 29, 855862 (2012) Abstract Aims To estimate the current and future economic burdens of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in the UK. Methods A top-down approach was used to estimate costs for 2010/2011 from aggregated data sets and literature. Prevalence and population data were used to project costs for 2035/2036. Direct health costs were estimated from data on diagnosis, lifestyle interventions, ongoing treatment and management, and complications. Indirect costs were estimated from data on mortality, sickness, presenteeism (potential loss of productivity among people who remain in work) and informal care. Results Diabetes cost approximately 23.7bn pound in the UK in 2010/2011: 9.8bn pound in direct costs (1bn pound for Type 1 diabetes and 8.8bn pound for Type 2 diabetes) and 13.9bn pound in indirect costs (0.9bn pound and 13bn) pound. In real terms, the 2035/2036 cost is estimated at 39.8bn pound: 16.9bn pound in direct costs (1.8bn pound for Type 1 diabetes and 15.1bn pound for Type 2 diabetes) and 22.9bn pound in indirect costs (2.4bn pound and 20.5bn) pound. Sensitivity analysis applied to the direct costs produced a range of costs: between 7.9bn pound and 11.7bn pound in 2010/2011 and between 13.8bn pound and 20bn pound in 2035/2036. Diabetes currently accounts for approximately 10% of the total health resource expenditure and is projected to account for around 17% in 2035/2036. Conclusions Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are prominent diseases in the UK and are a significant economic burden. Data differentiating between the costs of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are sparse. Complications related to the diseases account for a substantial proportion of the direct health costs. As prevalence increases, the cost of treating complications will grow if current care regimes are maintained.