Life Years Lost and Lifetime Healthcare Expenditures Associated With Diabetes in the U.S., National Health Interview Survey, 1997-2000.

Leung MM1, Pollack LM2, Colditz GA1, Chang SH3.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

This study analyzed the lifetime healthcare expenditures and life years lost associated with diabetes in the U.S.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:

Data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey from 1997 to 2000, and the NHIS Linked Mortality Public-use Files with a mortality follow-up to 2006 were used to estimate age-, race-, sex-, and BMI-specific risk of diabetes, mortality, and annual healthcare expenditures for both patients with diabetes and nondiabetics. A Markov model populated by the risk and cost estimates was used to compute life years and total lifetime healthcare expenditures by age, race, sex, and BMI classifications for patients with diabetes and without diabetes.

RESULTS:

Predicted life expectancy for patients with diabetes and without diabetes demonstrated an inverted U shape across most BMI classifications, with highest life expectancy being for the overweight. Lifetime healthcare expenditures were higher for whites than blacks and for females than males. Using U.S. adults aged 50 years as an example, we found that diabetic white females with a BMI >40 kg/m2 had 17.9 remaining life years and lifetime health expenditures of $185,609, whereas diabetic white females with normal weight had 22.2 remaining life years and lifetime health expenditures of $183,704.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results show that obesity is associated with large decreases in life expectancy and large increases in lifetime healthcare expenditures. In addition to decreasing life expectancy by 3.3 to 18.7 years, diabetes increased lifetime healthcare expenditures by $8,946 to $159,380 depending on age-race-sex-BMI classification groups.