title: Cost of medical care among type 2 diabetic patients with a co-morbid condition--hypertension in India.
abstract: The aim was to estimate the cost of medical care among hospitalized diabetic patients and to assess the influence of an additional co-morbid condition-hypertension. A pre tested and validated questionnaire was interviewer administered among 443 (male:female, 235:208) hospitalized diabetic patients. The JNC VII criteria for hypertension was considered to divide the study population into two groups; group I - diabetic patients without hypertension (n=269) and group II - diabetic patients with hypertension (n=174). Details of cost of inpatient and out-patient care and expenditure on hospitalization for the previous 2 years were obtained. The prevalence of hypertension among the study subjects was 39.3% (174 subjects). Presence of hypertension made a significant impact on the expenditure pattern. On an average a diabetic patient with hypertension spent 1.4 times more than a diabetic subject without hypertension. Median cost per hospitalization, length of stay during admission, and cost of 2 years for inpatient admission were all significantly higher for diabetic patients with a co-morbid condition. There is a need to develop a protocol on cost effective strategy for diabetes care. Strict control of hypertension should be targeted to avoid excess treatment cost on diabetes care.
authors.affiliation: MV Hospital for Diabetes and Diabetes Research Centre (WHO Collaborating Centre for Research, Education and Training in diabetes) No-4, Royapuram, Chennai 13, India.
authors.forename: Shabana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tharkar
authors.forename: Kumpatla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Satyavani
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Viswanathan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012923:Social Class