Chromium Picolinate and Biotin Are Cost-Effective Tools in Management of Type II Diabetes

According to a study published in the August issue of Disease Management (8, 4:265-275, 2005), chromium picolinate plus biotin (as Diachrome(R)) supplementation is an affordable, safe, convenient, and cost-effective complement to existing pharmacological therapies for controlling Type II diabetes.

Researchers developed an economic model to estimate the impact on health care costs by improving HbA1C levels (an indicator of glycemic control) with chromium picolinate plus biotin. Lifetimes cost savings were estimated by adjusting a benchmark from the literature, using a price index to adjust for inflation. The cost of diabetes is highly dependent on HbA1C level, with higher initial levels and higher annual increments increasing the cost. Improvement in glycemic control has proven to be cost-effective in delaying the onset and progression of diabetes, reducing the risk for diabetes-associated complications and lowering utilization and cost of care.

Chromium picolinate plus biotin showed greater improvement of glycemic control in poorly controlled diabetes patients compared to their better controlled counterparts. This improvement was additive to that achieved by oral hypoglycemic medications and correlates to calculated levels of cost savings. Average three-year cost savings for chromium picolinate plus biotin use could range from $1,636 for a poorly controlled patient with diabetes--without heart diseases or hypertension--to $5,435 for a poorly controlled patient with diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. Average three-year total cost savings was estimated to be between $3.9 billion and $52.9 billion for the 16.3 million existing patients with diabetes. Chromium picolinate plus biotin use among the 1.17 million newly diagnosed diabetes patients each year could deliver lifetime cost savings of $42 billion, or $36,000 per patient.

Researchers concluded chromium picolinate plus biotin supplementation is an affordable, safe, convenient and cost-effective complement to existing pharmacological therapies for controlling HbA1C levels Type II diabetes.