In 2011-2012, more than 2.3 million adults in California had been diagnosed with diabetes, according to the California Health Interview Survey, up 35% from a decade ago.
Using hospital patient discharge records, study authors found that only 1.7% of hospitalizations are attributed to diabetes as the primary diagnosis. But because the disease may exacerbate other conditions, or cause serious complications that include blindness, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and limb disease, it is more expensive to treat these patients, they said.
Regardless of the reason for the hospitalization, the authors reported that hospital admissions each cost about $2,200 more for diabetics than they do for people without the disease. Using the discharge data, along with financial data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, they found that these incremental costs added up to about $1.6 billion in additional healthcare expenditures in California in 2011.
“Given that approximately 90-95% of diagnosed diabetes among adults is type 2 diabetes and is therefore preventable, public health measures can and should be taken to relieve the burden of type 2 diabetes,” the authors wrote. Specific recommendations include promoting appropriate management of diabetes, adequate access to quality primary and specialty care, and environments that encourage healthy eating and regular physical activity.
The study also pointed out demographic disparities in hospitalizations of diabetic Californians. Latinos had the highest rates of hospitalization with diabetes for any racial or ethnic group, with 43.2% of Latino hospital patients having the condition. Among hospitalized African-American adults, 39.3% were diabetic; 27.5% of hospitalized white adults were diabetic.
The majority of hospitalized diabetic patients also were found to be paid for by public insurance. About 75% of hospitalizations in California for people with diabetes were covered by government-funded Medicare and Medi-Cal.
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