Diabetes treatment becomes more complex, costly

"A progressively more complex and expensive array of treatments for type 2 diabetes is being prescribed to an increasing number of adults, according to a report in the October 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In 2000, more than 11 million Americans had been diagnosed with diabetes, according to background information in the article. 'By 2050, the number of Americans with diabetes is expected to soar to 29 million, a prevalence of 7 percent,' the authors write. 'The annual economic burden of diabetes is estimated at $132 billion and increasing. In 2002, more than one-tenth of U.S. health care expenditures were attributable to diabetes.' As costs and prevalence increase, managing diabetes also has become increasingly complex, as physicians prescribe more medications to each patient and combine drugs from different therapeutic classes'" - newswise