Description

Health care related expenditure for diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate all over the world and it is creating a huge burden. The economic effects of diabetes go beyond the costs that economies need to invest in diagnosis, care and prevention. Primary evidence on these issues are scarce even in developed world and these are almost absent in the developing countries like Bangladesh. The present study was conducted to estimate the economic burden of type-2 diabetes mellitus with particular focus on nutrition related costs among 531 registered participants (aged 30 years) with more than 1 year duration of diabetes. The average annual cost of care was found US $ 314 (direct cost US $ 283 and indirect cost US $ 37) ranging from US $ 23 to US $ 1334. Average nutrition related cost was US $ 1.5 per person per day. This study has also identified that the average annual cost of diabetes care per patient in OPD of tertiary care facility in Bangladesh is US$ 313 (Tk. 25,102) and with an estimated 9.5 million diabetic patients in the country the total annual burden will be US $ 2973.5 (Tk. 237,880) million. [Currency conversion rate: US$ 1 = Tk.80]