Direct Financial Cost of Diabetes Mellitus among Adult Sudanese Patients in Khartoum State 2016-2017

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with devastating short and long-term complications that affect productivity. The corner stone for diabetes care is tight glycemic control with regular follow up. To achieve this care, medications and other health care services must be available and affordable.

Objective: To estimate the direct cost of diabetes mellitus care among adult patients in Khartoum state.

Methods: Cross-sectional study using multi-stage sampling technique to select the facilities proportional to population size. Patients were interviewed using questionnaire.

Results: The total annual cost of Diabetes was estimated to be 3820 Sudanese pound (SDG) per person. Hospitalizations fees accounted for the major portion of the cost. Forty-seven percent of the patients were admitted with diabetes related problems during the previous year. One in four of the diabetic patients had no sufficient supply of medications.

Conclusion: The total annual cost was significantly lower among those with regular follow up visits than those with irregular visits (P < 0.03). Emphasis should be put on providing affordable and available health services and medication especially at PHC level.