ABSTRACT
The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) has increased dramatically over the past 40 years both in the United States and worldwide. In 1985, there were approximately 30 million people with DM worldwide.1 By the year 1995, this number had increased to 135 million. According to current projections, the worldwide incidence of DM in 2025 is expected to increase by 42%, bringing the total number of patients affected by DM to over 300 million. In the United States, at least 18 million people have been diagnosed with DM, and another 5.9 million are unaware they have the disease. Based on national trends from 1980 to 1998, that number is expected to swell to 29 million by 2050.2
While the number of cases of diabetes increases, the burden it will place on society and our economy will increase as well. In 2002, the American Diabetes Association calculated the total economic cost of diabetes to be $132 billion, or one out of every ten health care dollars spent in the United States. Direct medical expenditures totaled $92 billion and comprised $23.2 billion for diabetes care, $24.6 billion for chronic diabetes-related complications, and $44.1 billion for excess prevalence of general medical conditions. Indirect costs resulting from lost work days, restricted activity days, mortality, and permanent disability due to DM totaled $40.8 billion.
