The Rising Cost of Diabetes: Tips for Prevention

Abstract

The rising cost of diabetes has been considered to pose a serious threat to the economy of both developed and developing world. Vascular complications of diabetes results in costly interventions to save the life of the individual. Landmark clinical trials have proven the importance of sustaining the glycemic targets and normalising cardiovascular risk parameters which translates to significant reduction in the micro vascular complications of diabetes. There are global as well as country specific guidelines for choosing the appropriate therapies. Early insulin initiation, delaying or slowing the beta cell decline, choosing therapies based on individualised parameters avoiding hypoglycaemia, cheaper Insulins and oral therapies in low resource settings are the proven strategies to prevent the exhaustive rise in the cost of treating diabetes and its complications. Sustained efforts at educating the public and patients should serve as the backbone to reach long term goals in preventive diabetes care.