Socioeconomic Burden of Type 2 Diabetes with Complications on Families: A Hospital-Based Study in Puducherry

Abstract

Abstract Introduction India is on the verge of diabetes mellitus (DM) epidemic. Within the near future, DM will put a big burden on India’s already vulnerable and resourced health care system. The objectives of the study were to (1) estimate DM treatment-related out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) among type 2 DM patients with complications from a tertiary care hospital and (2) estimate the economic burden on the household income of these patients due to DM treatment-related OOPE. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among known type 2 diabetic individuals with complications admitted in a tertiary care hospital. Using a structured pretested questionnaire required data, such as sociodemographic details, direct costs, and indirect costs in health care of DM, which were collected by a personal interview method. Results Males constituted around 57% of the 100 patients who participated in the study. The average age of the population was 56 ± 10.03 years. The mean monthly income of family (in Indian Rupees [INR]) was 10,375.00 ± 9,201.55. Total expenditure includes the cost of medication, investigation, consultation fee, transportation, and miscellaneous expenditure. The average monthly OOPE in the management of DM for government and private facilities was INR 74 and 1,540, respectively. Among the total cost, the highest share was accrued toward medicines followed by diagnostics, miscellaneous, and transportation. There were 22% of families incurring catastrophic expenditure at the highest threshold of 40%. Socioeconomic status, history of at least one hospitalization in the past 6 months, and type of medications were factors found to be associated with costs. Conclusion Heavy economic burden highlights the urgent need for the health care agencies and policy bodies to plan and prioritize local health policies and DM management schemes accordingly.