The effect of depression on health care utilization and costs in patients with type 2 diabetes

Iftekhar D. Kalsekar, Suresh M. Madhavan, Mayur M. Amonkar, Virginia Scott, Stratford M. Douglas, Eugene Makela

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

The objective of the study was to estimate the effect of depression on health care utilization and costs in patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Patients were identified during a four-year enrollment period (1998-2001) from a Medicaid claims database. The final cohort consisted of 4,294 patients with type 2 diabetes (1,525 patients with depression; 2,769 patients without depression). Multivariate results indicated that significant utilization differences existed between the two groups: Patients who were depressed incurred a higher number of physician office visits, emergency room/inpatient admissions, and more prescriptions compared with patients who had diabetes but were not depressed. Patients with depression had nearly 65% higher overall health care costs than those without depression. Recognizing that depression is as a risk factor for increasing health care expenditures has the potential to improve diabetes management and related outcomes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)39-46
Number of pages8
JournalManaged Care Interface
Volume19
Issue number3
StatePublished - 1 Mar 2006

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