The Humanistic Burden of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Europe: Examining Health Outcomes and the Role of Complications

AIMS Diagnoses of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) in Europe appear to be on the rise. Therefore it is imperative that researchers understand the potential impact that increases in prevalence could have on the affected individuals as well as on society as a whole. Accordingly this study examined the humanistic and economic burden of T1DM in patients relative to those without the condition across a number of health outcomes including health status, work productivity loss, activity impairment, and healthcare resource use. METHODS Survey data from a large, representative sample of EU adults (The EU National Health and Wellness Survey) were examined. RESULTS Results suggest that overall burden is higher for those diagnosed with T1DM than respondents without diabetes and that burden increases as complications associated with T1DM increase. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these results suggest that treatment strategies for T1DM should balance clinical, humanistic, and economic burden and patients should be educated on the role of complications in disease outcomes.