Health care utilization and expenditures of persons with diabetes comorbid with anxiety disorder: a national population-based cohort study.

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to investigate and compare health care utilization and expenditures between persons with diabetes comorbid with and without anxiety disorder in Taiwan. Methods Health care utilization and expenditures among persons with diabetes with and without comorbid anxiety disorder in the period 2000–2004 were examined using the Taiwan's National Health Insurance claims data. Health care utilization included outpatient visits and use of hospital inpatient services, while expenditures included outpatient, inpatient and total medical expenditures. General estimation equation (GEE) models were used to analyze the factors associated with outpatient visits and expenditures, and multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to identify factors associated with hospitalization. Results In the study period, the average number of annual outpatient visits was 43.11–50.37 and 29.82–31.42 for persons with diabetes comorbid with anxiety disorder and for those without anxiety disorder, respectively. The average annual total expenditure was NT$74,875–92,781 and NT$63,764–81,667, respectively. Controlling for covariates, the GEE models revealed that age and time were associated with outpatient visits. Income and time factor were associated with total expenditure. Conclusions Health care utilization and expenditures for persons with diabetes with comorbid anxiety disorder are significantly higher than those without anxiety disorder. The factors associated with health care utilization and expenditures are age, income and time.