Prevalence of diabetes in Poland: a combined analysis of national databases

Abstract

Aims To assess the number of people with diabetes in Poland using combined national sources and to evaluate the usefulness of data from an insurance system for epidemiological purposes.Methods The data were collected from four sources: 1) 2013 all-billing records of the national insurance system comprising people of all age groups undergoing procedures or receiving services in primary healthcare, specialist practices and hospitals and also those receiving drugs; 2) an epidemiological study, NATPOL, that involved the assessment of people with undiagnosed diabetes; 3) the RECEPTOmetr Sequence study on prescriptions; and 4) regional child diabetes registries. ResultsIn 2013, 1.76 million people (0.98 million women and 0.79 million men) had medical consultations (coded E10-E14) and 2.13 million people (1.19 million women and 0.94 million men) purchased drugs or strip tests for diabetes. A total of 0.04 million people who used medical services did not buy drugs. In total, the number of people with diabetes in the insurance system was 2.16 million (1.21 million women and 0.95 million men), which corresponds to 6.1% (95% CI 6.11-6.14) of women and 5.1% (95% CI 5.12-5.14) of men. Including undiagnosed cases, the total number of people with diabetes in Poland was 2.68 million in 2013.Conclusion The estimated prevalence of diabetes (diagnosed and undiagnosed cases) in Poland is 6.97%. Data from the national insurance system with full coverage of the population can be treated as a reliable source of information on diseases with well-defined diagnosis and treatment methods, combined with an assessment of the number of undiagnosed individuals.

Learning about diabetes through epidemiology

“…Combining a number of Polish data sources, Topor‐Madry et al . found higher crude prevalence rates of diagnosed diabetes in women than in men, 6.1% vs 5.1%, but after age standardization, the prevalence rates were higher in men, at 4.3% and 4.7%, respectively. If undiagnosed diabetes is included, the overall crude prevalence was 7.0%.…”

<p>Polish Adaptation of the Self-Care of Diabetes Inventory (SCODI)</p>

“…More than half of the patients in Poland are elderly people between the ages of 60 and 79. 3 Modern diabetes therapy goes beyond the traditional understanding of chronic disease treatment. It includes early prevention, identification and monitoring of risk factors and education.…”

Global burden of diabetes: regional disparities in prevalence, incidence, and mortality

“…In Poland, based on the number of patients who filled prescriptions, the prevalence of DM increased from 5.8% in 2010 to 6.1% in 2014. Another study from Topor-Madry et al [12] studied the prevalence of DM in Poland using data from different sources: 2013 all-billing records of the national insurance system, an epidemiological study, NATPOL, which involved the assessment of people with undiagnosed DM and the RECEPTOmetr Sequence study on prescriptions. This allowed the authors to assess separately the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed DM: 2.17 million people who were aware that they had DM and 0.51 million who were unaware that they had DM, resulting in an overall prevalence of 6.97%.…”