Healthcare reimbursement costs of children with type 1 diabetes in the Netherlands, a observational nationwide study (Young Dudes-4).

BACKGROUND: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is one of the most common chronic diseases in children. Studies on costs related to T1DM are scarce and focused primarily on the costs directly related to diabetes. We aimed to investigate both the overall healthcare costs and the more specific costs related to the management of diabetes. METHODS: This is a retrospective and observational, nationwide cohort study of all Dutch children (aged 0-18 years) with T1DM. Data were collected from the national registry for healthcare reimbursement, in which all Dutch insurance companies combine their reimbursement data. In the Netherlands for all Dutch citizens health care is covered by law and all children are treated by hospital-based paediatricians. RESULTS: We analysed 6710 children distributed over 81 hospitals: 475 children in 6 university hospitals and 6235 children in 75 general hospitals. Total reimbursement for all children with T1DM over the period 2009 to 2011 was € 167,494,732 corresponding to an annual mean of € 55,831,577 of total costs and € 8326 euros per child. When comparing small (between 26 and 54 patients), medium (57-84 patients) and large (88-248 patients) general hospitals, costs per patient were highest in the hospitals with the highest number of T1DM patients. The costs for devices, secondary care and pharmaceutics had most impact on total expenditures. Over the study period, there was a slight decrease in per person costs. CONCLUSION: The overall health expenditure of a child with T1DM is more than € 8000 per patient per annum. Given the move towards more device-intensive multidisciplinary care for these patients, the costs of treating T1DM in children are likely to increase further in the coming years.

[Metformin in adolescents and adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus: not evidence-based]. / Metformine bij adolescenten en volwassenen met diabetes mellitus type 1: niet evidence-based.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) often have problems in achieving optimal glycaemic control. We investigated whether there is evidence of the beneficial effect of the addition of metformin to insulin therapy in adolescents with DM1. DESIGN: Systematic literature study. METHOD: Medline and Embase were searched for randomised double-blind trials in adolescents with DM1 up to May 2011 inclusive. Two reviewers selected relevant articles based on title, summary and, if necessary, the full text. The quality of the methodology was also assessed. RESULTS: We found 2 studies in adolescents, of limited scope and duration. On this basis, it was decided that the search of the literature should be extended to adults with DM1, whereby 4 studies were found. All six trials were of good methodological quality, and included 196 patients in total. Clinical and statistical heterogeneity precluded pooling the results in a meta analysis. In one study in adolescents metformin treatment showed a reduction of HbA1c by 0.6% (95% CI: -1.16-0.04) and a slight decrease in daily total insulin dose. However, the treatment groups were not comparable at baseline. In the other studies, no significant changes in HbA1c were found. All studies showed decreased daily insulin dose; in four studies this was significant. Two studies showed a beneficial effect on weight or BMI. No serious side effects were recorded. One study showed an increase in hypoglycaemic episodes during metformin treatment. CONCLUSION: The possible benefit of adding metformin to insulin in adolescents and adults with type 1 diabetes remains unclear. A well-designed double-blind randomised trial carried out over a longer time period is required to assess whether metformin is of added value.