Diabetes and peripheral artery disease are costly; PAD may spur growth in medical device industry

Diabetes and peripheral artery disease cost billions each year in medical expenses.

USA Today: Diabetes cases in the U.S. are expected to double or triple by 2050, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report, published in the journal Population Health Metrics, says that "one in 10 U.S. adults have diabetes now. The prevalence is expected to rise sharply over the next 40 years with as many as one in three having the disease, primarily type 2 diabetes." Experts attribute the rise to early diagnosis, people living longer with diabetes, and "growing populations of minority groups such as African Americans and Hispanics, who are more at risk for the disease. But an increasing number of overweight Americans also is fueling the stark predictions for diabetes, which should be taken seriously, Albright says." The current cost of diabetes is estimated by the CDC to be at $174 billion annually, "$116 billion of which is in direct medical costs." That expense may double in the next 20 years, according to David Kendall, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association. Health experts say better school meal options and physical education programs should be a priority (Marcus, 10/22).

The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune: "Heart attacks below the belt," also known as peripheral artery disease (PAD), account for $21 billion a year in hospitalizations, according to a recent University of Minnesota study funded by drugmakers Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. "More than 8 million Americans suffer from PAD -- a number that's expected to rise as baby boomers age. … Treatments range from drugs to surgery to stents that prop open clogged arteries, as well as lasers and drills that bust up hardened plaque." Given the complex nature of PAD treatment, the market for related medical technology is estimated at $3.4 billion, according to an industry analyst - "one of the most-promising in medical technology." Companies are scrambling "to prove their product is the best treatment in the wake of escalating health care costs and the advent of health care reform, which calls for more comparative-effectiveness research" (Moore, 10/21).