Comorbid Depression is Associated With Increased Health Care Use and Expenditures in Individuals With Diabetes

TLDR

The study examined the odds of diagnosed depression among adults with diabetes and its association with health‑care utilization and costs. Using 1996 MEPS data, the authors compared 825 adults with diabetes to 20,688 without, then compared depressed versus nondepressed diabetics, adjusting for age, sex, race, insurance, comorbidity, inflation, and analyzed with SAS/SUDAAN. Diabetes patients with depression were twice as likely to be diagnosed (OR 1.9), used more ambulatory visits and prescriptions, and incurred 4.5‑fold higher health‑care costs, with these differences persisting after adjustment.

Abstract

This study ascertained the odds of diagnosed depression in individuals with diabetes and the relation between depression and health care use and expenditures.First, we compared data from 825 adults with diabetes with that from 20,688 adults without diabetes using the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Second, in patients with diabetes, we compared depressed and nondepressed individuals to identify differences in health care use and expenditures. Third, we adjusted use and expenditure estimates for differences in age, sex, race/ethnicity, health insurance, and comorbidity with analysis of covariance. Finally, we used the Consumer Price Index to adjust expenditures for inflation and used SAS and SUDAAN software for statistical analyses.Individuals with diabetes were twice as likely as a comparable sample from the general U.S. population to have diagnosed depression (odds ratio 1.9, 95% CI 1.5-2.5). Younger adults (<65 years), women, and unmarried individuals with diabetes were more likely to have depression. Patients with diabetes and depression had higher ambulatory care use (12 vs. 7, P < 0.0001) and filled more prescriptions (43 vs. 21, P < 0.0001) than their counterparts without depression. Finally, among individuals with diabetes, total health care expenditures for individuals with depression was 4.5 times higher than that for individuals without depression ($247,000,000 vs. $55,000,000, P < 0.0001).The odds of depression are higher in individuals with diabetes than in those without diabetes. Depression in individuals with diabetes is associated with increased health care use and expenditures, even after adjusting for differences in age, sex, race/ethnicity, health insurance, and comorbidity.