Analysis of diabetes-related complications and the cost of diabetes in Poland. The methodology and the research sample used in Economedica DM-PL Survey

Background: Knowledge about diabetes mellitus (DM)-related complications, the direct and indirect costs incur - red by patients with DM is still insufficient in Poland. Economedica DM-PL ( Economedica ) survey was a cross--sectional observational study that aimed to assess these issues. Material and methods: The survey was carried out in 2016 on a representative sample of 2032 diabetic patients recruited by 195 general practitioners (GP) and 48 diabetologists (D) randomly selected from the national registry of physicians. Each GP and D recruited 8 to 10 patients with DM according to the specified protocol. The study included 1938 medical questionnaires (comple - ted by the GPs and Ds), 1938 questionnaires about costs (completed by the patients) and 1532 treatment adhe - rence questionnaires. Results: The Economedica survey provided new insights into DM epidemiological and cost data. 70% of patients with type-1 DM were diagnosed with the disease before the age of 40. For 76% patients with type-2 DM, it was diagnosed after the age of 50. The average monthly out-of-pocket medical costs for DM patients in 2016 reached 66.2 EUR, while their non-medical costs were 36.8 EUR. Conclusions: The methodology applied in our study proved useful for providing new dimensions of DM epidemiological and cost data in Poland.