CDC economist: Diabetes prevention could save $29_8 billion
While people with type 2 diabetes can control their blood sugar if they buy Canadian Actos, experts agree that preventing the development of the disease is preferable.
While people with type 2 diabetes can control their blood sugar if they buy Canadian Actos, experts agree that preventing the development of the disease is preferable. Now, an economist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that a nationwide campaign could avert 885,000 cases of adult onset diabetes, saving the American healthcare system $29.8 billion, as reported by HealthDay.
"The take-home message is that implementing screening and community-based lifestyle interventions can improve health and reduce health care costs over the long term. This is an efficient use of health care resources," said Xiaohui Zhuo of the CDC, as quoted by the news source.
Under Zhuo's hypothetical program, all individuals in the U.S. aged 65 to 84 would be invited to undergo laboratory screening, while younger patients would consult their general physicians.
All suitable candidates would be enrolled into a series of 16 community-based lifestyle classes focused on weight loss. Subsequent sessions would help patients maintain these lifestyle changes.
After accounting for program dropouts, Zhuo predicted risk reductions of 40 percent for participants aged 18 to 64, and 50 percent for older patients during the first two years. The intervention would cost $300 per person for the first year, but ultimately would yield net savings of $6 billion over 25 years, according to Zhuo, whose study is published in the journal Health Affairs.
Type 2 diabetes accounts for up to 95 percent of all diabetes cases, the CDC said.
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