TY - JOUR
T1 - The economic burden of diabetic retinopathy in Germany in 2002
AU - Happich, Michael
AU - Reitberger, Ursula
AU - Breitscheidel, Lusine
AU - Ulbig, Michael
AU - Watkins, Jessamy
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements We thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the paper. This research was supported by Lilly Germany GmbH, Bad Homburg.
PY - 2008/1
Y1 - 2008/1
N2 - Background: The aims of our study were to describe the costs associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR), and to evaluate its economic impact in Germany. Methods: Forty-one German ophthalmologists, randomly selected from a physicians' database in Germany, provided information on adult Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients with DR (n=207). This information included socio-demographics, clinical characteristics and resource use during the year 2002. National-level cost estimates were calculated, based on these results and the prevalence data on DR in Germany. Results: This study found that costs associated with DR tend to increase as DR progresses, being highest in patients with proliferative DR and lowest in patients with mild, non-proliferative DR. The German statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, GKV) covered two-thirds of the total costs paid by all the payers. The total cost of DR from a societal perspective was calculated at €3.51 bn for the year 2002, and from the GKV perspective amounted to €2.23 bn. Conclusions: This study is the first comprehensive study to provide estimates of costs associated with DR in Germany. These costs were estimated to account for approximately 1.5% of the total health-care expenditure in 2002.
AB - Background: The aims of our study were to describe the costs associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR), and to evaluate its economic impact in Germany. Methods: Forty-one German ophthalmologists, randomly selected from a physicians' database in Germany, provided information on adult Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients with DR (n=207). This information included socio-demographics, clinical characteristics and resource use during the year 2002. National-level cost estimates were calculated, based on these results and the prevalence data on DR in Germany. Results: This study found that costs associated with DR tend to increase as DR progresses, being highest in patients with proliferative DR and lowest in patients with mild, non-proliferative DR. The German statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, GKV) covered two-thirds of the total costs paid by all the payers. The total cost of DR from a societal perspective was calculated at €3.51 bn for the year 2002, and from the GKV perspective amounted to €2.23 bn. Conclusions: This study is the first comprehensive study to provide estimates of costs associated with DR in Germany. These costs were estimated to account for approximately 1.5% of the total health-care expenditure in 2002.
KW - Costs
KW - Diabetes
KW - Retinopathy
KW - Type 2 diabetes
KW - Type1 diabetes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=36448979554&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00417-007-0573-x
DO - 10.1007/s00417-007-0573-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 17406883
AN - SCOPUS:36448979554
SN - 0721-832X
VL - 246
SP - 151
EP - 159
JO - Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
JF - Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
IS - 1
ER -
