Comparing clinical and economic characteristics between commercially-insured patients with diabetic neuropathy and demographically-matched diabetic controls

ABSTRACTObjective: To examine medical conditions associated with diabetic neuropathy (DN) and to identify drivers of healthcare charges and utilization using administrative claims.Methods: The study examined commercially-insured under-age-65 individuals with 24 months continuous enrollment in a large US national health plan. DN patients were identified by having at least one claim with a DN diagnosis between July 2004 and June 2005. A demographically-matched control cohort of patients with diabetes but no DN (10: 1 ratio) was constructed using propensity scoring. Overall illness burden via a comprehensive disease classification, year 2 (July 2005 through June 2006) distribution of charges, and reasons for inpatient admissions and emergency room (ER) visits were compared between DN patients and diabetic controls. Multivariate regressions were used to assess the marginal contribution of DN to healthcare charges and utilization, and the most common reasons for ER and inpatient admissions, controlling for dif...