Mixed
Higher deficit accumulation frailty index (FI) scores are strongly associated with increased total health care costs, including medication, outpatient, and hospitalization expenses, in adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity.
For individuals with type 2 diabetes and obesity, monitoring for 'frailty' (defined as the accumulation of health deficits like blood pressure, mobility issues, and chronic conditions) is critical. Higher frailty scores predict significantly higher medical bills. Interventions that slow the progression of frailty, such as the intensive lifestyle intervention in this study, can lead to substantial annual savings in healthcare costs ($437-$461/year), primarily through reduced medication and hospitalization needs.
Compared with participants in the lowest tertile (least frail) of baseline FI, those in the highest tertile (most frail) at Year 1 averaged $714 (42%) higher medication costs, $244 (22%) higher outpatient costs, and $800 (134%) higher hospitalization costs (p<0.001).
Why this rating
Large longitudinal cohort (n=4906), randomized controlled trial context (Look AHEAD), but observational analysis of costs.
Source
Cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations among healthcare costs and deficit accumulation
Mark A. Espeland et al. · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2024
DOI 10.1111/jgs.19053
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