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Health care costs associated with gestational diabetes mellitus among high-risk women - results from a randomised trial Full Text
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth,
Kolu P et al. – A confirmed gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) diagnosis was associated with a significant increase in total health care costs. Effective lifestyle counselling by primary health care providers may offer a means of reducing the high costs of secondary care.
Methods- The study was based on a cluster–randomised GDM prevention trial (N=848) carried out at maternity clinics, combined with data from the Finnish Medical Birth Register and Care Registers for Social Welfare and Health Care.
- Costs of outpatient visits to primary and secondary care, cost of inpatient hospital care before and after delivery, the use of insulin, delivery costs and babies' stay in the neonatal intensive care unit were analysed.
- Women who developed GDM were compared to those who were not diagnosed with GDM.
- Total mean health care costs adjusted for age, body mass index and education were 25.1% higher among women diagnosed with GDM (E6,432 vs. E5,143, p<0.001) than among women without GDM.
- The cost of inpatient visits was 44% higher and neonatal intensive care unit use was 49% higher in the GDM group than among women without GDM.
- The delivery costs were the largest single component in both groups.
