There was a continuous increase in the prevalence of diabetes in Germany during the 8-year period. Although there was only a modest increase in annual diabetes-related per-capita costs, total healthcare expenditure rose substantially due to the growing number of patients being treated for diabetes.

Cost for diabetes is largely caused by management of complications. It is important to prevent complications by consequent management of diabetes as well as by primary prevention of its onset.

Results of this evaluation suggest that, in immobilised acutely ill medical inpatients, ENOX may offer hospitals in Germany a very cost-effective option for thromboprophylaxis compared with NPP and a cost-saving alternative compared with LDUFH.

Cost of illness studies create transparency on the economic dimension of diseases. By now, the CoDiM study, based on administrative data of AOK Hesse und KV Hesse, identifies costs of people with diabetes and diabetes related excess costs in Germany for a period of 10 years. To date, additionally adjusted results are available by accounting for effects caused by inflation and ageing of the population. From 2000 to 2009 the number of treated patients with diabetes increased by 49 %, adjusted for age by 31 %. Mean cost of patients with diabetes and diabetes related excess costs per capita turned out to be relatively stable over the time period observed. The relation of cost per patient with diabetes to cost of patients without diabetes didn't change. Due to the increase of the number of treated patients with diabetes in the past 10 years, the total direct cost, dependant on the approach of calculation (adjusting or not for inflation and ageing effects), rose by 28 % to 70 %, the therein included diabetes excess cost by 24 % to 61 %.

This checklist is an initial approach to improve transparency and understanding of CoI studies in terms of the extent, structure and development of the socioeconomic burden of diseases. The checklist supports the comparability of different studies and facilitates study conception.