Diabetes is a chronic condition characterised by high blood sugar. Type 1 diabetes frequently emerges in childhood and is not related to lifestyle factors. The risk of type 2 diabetes, however, increases with age and obesity. People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes are at risk of developing long-term problems affecting the heart, kidneys, eyes, nerves and feet. The management of diabetes and its complications is associated with significant healthcare costs. The aim of this study is to describe the number of people who have type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the UK and estimate the healthcare costs associated with managing these conditions. How often a disease occurs in our population plays an important role in planning NHS services and identifying areas for future research and development.
Research-quality patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes will be selected using detailed criteria. The number of people developing the condition (its incidence) will then be calculated on a yearly basis for the duration of the data source, and the proportion of people having that condition at the midyear point (its point prevalence) will be calculated over the same period. Time to death and patients’ characteristics will be presented. The frequency and cost of primary care consultations, prescriptions, outpatient attendances and inpatient stays will also be presented.
The aim is to describe the epidemiology of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and estimate and cost healthcare use by people with these conditions. Acceptable patients will be selected from CPRD GOLD and Aurum if they have a record of one or more of the following: a product code indicative of a glucose-lowering therapy or a medical code indicative of diabetes. Patients will be classified as having type 1 and type 2 diabetes by applying a series of previously published decision rules based on diagnoses, prescriptions for glucose-lowering therapies, BMI and HbA1c. For sensitivity analyses, a subcohort will comprise English patients eligible for linkage to the HES admitted patient care (APC) and outpatient datasets and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) death registration data. The start of CPRD follow-up will be defined as the later of the patient’s registration date and, in CPRD GOLD, their practice’s up-to-standard date; the end of CPRD data follow-up will be defined as the earliest of the patient’s transfer-out date, date of death (if applicable), and the last data-collection date for their practice. The presentation date will be defined as that of the patient’s first ever record with a code indicative of the diabetes. For incident patients, selected if their presentation date occurs at least 90 days after registration, detailed patient characteristics will be determined. Time to death will be presented using Kaplan–Meier curves. Healthcare resource use and associated costs will be estimated before and after presentation and comprise primary care contacts, primary care prescriptions, outpatient attendances and hospital admissions. Incidence and point prevalence will be calculated on a yearly basis.
This study will provide valuable information on the healthcare burden associated with diabetes and help to inform healthcare decision-making.
Patient characteristics; Comorbidities; Healthcare resource use; Healthcare costs; All-cause mortality; Incidence; Prevalence
- Chief Investigator -
- Corresponding Applicant -
- Collaborator -
Cerys Jenkins - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Chris Shepherd - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Christopher Morgan - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Darren Summers - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Elgan Mathias - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Harry Fisher - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Sara Jenkins-Jones - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Cerys Jenkins - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Christopher Morgan - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Chris Shepherd - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Darren Summers - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Elgan Mathias - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Sara Jenkins-Jones - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
Thomas Berni - Collaborator - Pharmatelligence Limited t/a Human Data Sciences
HES Admitted Patient Care;HES Outpatient;ONS Death Registration Data