The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7220 p558
19 October 2002

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Control of diabetes will cost £100.5m

The net annual cost of implementing better glycaemic and blood pressure control for people with type 2 diabetes has been calculated at £100.5m by British researchers.

A cost-analysis of the United Kingdom prospective diabetes study (UKPDS) revealed that the cost of implementing its main findings was less than 1 per cent of the Government’s proposed increase in annual NHS spend for 2001–05. In addition, the researchers calculated that 720 extra staff would be required to put these control policies into practice.

However, the study did not estimate the potential impact of screening for undiagnosed diabetes, or of using metformin more widely, for which the researchers say there is good evidence (BMJ 2002;325:860).