Health Care Use and Costs in Individuals With Diabetes With and Without Comorbid Depression in Germany: Results of the Cross-sectional DiaDec Study

To investigate differences in healthcare cost trends over 8 years in adults with diabetes and one of four categories of comorbid depression: no depression, unrecognized depression, asymptomatic depression, or symptomatic depression.

This study used the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) to estimate the cost of diabetes, depression, and comorbid diabetes and depression over 8 years.

To test the usefulness of the Diabetes Complications Severity Index (DCSI) without laboratory test results in predicting healthcare costs, for potential use in disease management programs.