The economic costs of hypoglycaemia

Abstract

The costs associated with hypoglycaemia can be subdivided into costs to the patient and those to the healthcare system. It is very difficult to estimate the economic costs for an individual patient and surveys estimating the costs of hypoglycaemia have focused on direct costs to the healthcare system. Severe hypoglycaemia imposes a major economic burden on healthcare systems, with the highest proportion of direct costs resulting from the small number of patients who are admitted to hospital. Furthermore, because subsequent follow-up also incurs costs, hypoglycaemic episodes requiring professional attendance outside hospital generate greater costs than those treated in the community by relatives or friends. Although people with type 2 diabetes are often perceived to be at low risk of developing severe hypoglycaemia, studies have shown that increasing duration of insulin treatment is the important factor that determines the risk of experiencing severe hypoglycaemia.