Lucknow: A middle class family spends an estimated 18 per cent of its family income in managing a diabetic patient in the house. This is the finding of a study by the department of endocrinology at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow.
In the survey, 88 families of patients were studied for a period of one year. All the patients were aged between 3 and 39 years. The researchers found that families had to spend Rs 27,915 per annum on the management of the ailment.
According to the study, the direct cost of management of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) that mainly afflicts children is expensive. The cost associated with management of the disease is about 18 per cent of the family income which, at times, hurts more than the insulin pricks that the patient receives.
Principal researcher, Prof. Eesh Bhatia said that the amount was considerably high for patients coming from middle and lower income groups. The burden was even higher since 81 per cent families and patients did not have access to government subsidy or medical insurance.
According to the principal researcher, the maximum expenditure was on home glucose monitoring (40 per cent) and insulin (39.5 per cent).
“Besides, we have cases where there are complications arising due to re-use of syringes, skipping a dose of insulin or irregular blood glucose monitoring which often leads to hospitalisation,” the doctor said. The cost of treatment is a bigger issue if people have to depend on private sector for blood sugar monitoring strips, insulin and tests.
