Direct costs
Data on the direct treatment costs of diabetes are key for planning diabetes care.
Key messages
- According to conservative estimates by the Federal Statistical Office, the direct costs of diabetes in 2015 totalled EUR 7.4 billion.
- The costs of diabetes are lower for women than for men.
- The proportion of diabetes-related costs relative to the total costs of all diseases is highest in the 65- to-84-year age group.
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By state
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By gender
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By age
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By education group
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Results
Direct costs for persons with diabetes were estimated at EUR 7.4 billion for 2015 (women: EUR 3.3 billion; men: EUR 4.0 billion). This equates to 2.2% of the total direct costs of all diseases (women: 1.8%; men: 2.7%). Both the direct costs of diabetes, as well as their proportion in relation to the direct costs of all diseases, are highest in the 45- to- 64-year (2.4%) and 65- to- 84-year age groups (3.1%).
Conclusion
The direct costs of diabetes in 2015 were estimated by the Federal Statistical Office at EUR 7.4 billion (Destatis, 2019). With comorbidities and secondary diseases taken into account, estimates based on 2009 SHI data calculate that diabetes patients incurred at least EUR 21 billion more additional costs than people without diabetes (Jacobs et al., 2017, Köster et al., 2012).
Show more information on methodology and data sources
Definition
The indicator Direct costs is defined as the proportion of total health care expenditure related to diabetes care. Direct costs include the cost of outpatient and inpatient treatment, rehabilitation and medication.
Reference population
Resident population in Germany, all ages.
Data source
Calculations of illness-related costs made by the Federal Statistical Office, which uses the total costs of health care to allocate the individual costs to particular sectors and then using medical diagnoses (top-down approach) for 2015.
Data quality
The Federal Statistical Office’s calculation of medical expenses provides information on medical expenses in Germany. Different data collections, for example with regard to claims and billing modalities, lead to variation between data sources in terms of the number and quality of diagnoses.