Costs of Diabetic Kidney Disease Called ‘Profound’ in the United States

CHICAGO — Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) affects about one-third of Type 2 diabetes patients, affecting quality of life and causing significant economic burdens on the healthcare system.

A new study published in Kidney Medicine sought to quantify the burden of care in patients at different stages of DKD and to monitor shifts in healthcare costs throughout these stages. The study was led by the University of Illinois, Chicago and included researchers from the University of Utah and the Salt Lake City VA Healthcare System.¹

Using data from the VA national database, the study team focused on U.S. veterans diagnosed with DKD between January 2016 and March 2022. The investigators summarized aggregated all-cause healthcare costs per month using descriptive statistics and calculated the cost of DKD patent care based on the stages, dialysis phase and kidney replacement therapy.

The cohort of 685,288 patients with DKD was predominantly male (96.51%), white (74.42%) and non-Hispanic (93.54%).

Results indicated that the mean (SD) per-patient per-month costs were $1,597 ($3,178), $1,772 ($4,269), $2,857 ($13,072), $3,722 ($12,134), $5,505 ($14,639) and $6,999 ($16,901) for stages 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4 and 5, respectively. The average monthly expenditure for patients receiving long-term dialysis was $12,299. “Costs peaked sharply during the first month of kidney replacement therapy at $38,359 but subsequently decreased to $6,636 after 1 year,” the authors pointed out.

The study called the economic implications of DKD “profound.” They emphasized the need for efficient early detection and disease management strategies. “Preventing patients from progressing to advanced DKD stage will minimize the economic repercussions of DKD and will assist healthcare systems in optimizing resource allocation,” the researchers wrote.

1. Kim K, Crook J, Lu CC, Nyman H, Sarker J, Nelson R, LaFleur J. Healthcare Costs Across Diabetic Kidney Disease Stages: A Veterans Affairs Study. Kidney Med. 2024 Jul 18;6(9):100873. doi: 10.1016/j.xkme.2024.100873. PMID: 39247400; PMCID: PMC11380387.