PDB12: A PHARMACOECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF WEIGHT-REDUCTION THERAPY IN A HYPOTHETICAL COHORT OF OBESE CHINESE PATIENTS WITH IMPAIRED GLUCOSE TOLERANCE

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To conduct a pharmacoeconomic analysis to estimate the potential cost avoidance due to reduced rate of incidence of diabetes after weight-reduction therapy in obese Chinese patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). METHODS: The incidence of IGT-to-diabetes mellitus (DM) conversion of two hypothetical cohorts of obese Chinese patients with IGT, either managed with diet control (n = 100) or diet control plus orlistat (n = 100), were projected over a two-year period. The probabilities of IGT-to-DM progression in the orlistat plus diet group and the diet only group were estimated from a published study in a non-Chinese and a westernized Chinese population, respectively. Direct medical costs of management of type 2 diabetes were estimated from a public budget perspective. RESULTS: The estimated rates of IGT-to-DM conversion were 1.9% for the orlistat plus diet group and 8% for the diet only group. The total costs of DM management at the end of the first and second years were estimated to be HK$8,187 and HK$23,390 ($HK 7.8 = $US 1) for the orlistat group. In the diet only group, the costs of DM management were HK$34,469 in year one and HK$100,123 in year two. The cost avoidance associated with orlistat therapy were calculated to be HK$26,282 and HK$75,092 per 100 patients at the end of the first and second years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present study suggest positive economic impacts of weight-reduction therapy in a hypothetical Chinese population with IGT in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.