A report from Frost & Sullivan entitled “Smart Prevention – Health Care Cost Savings Resulting from the Targeted Use of Dietary Supplements" reviews the opportunity/cost of using dietary supplements to prevent a number of diseases, saving substantial expense in healthcare.
The report was made possible by a grant from the Council for Responsible Nutrition Foundation
The report summary opens by noting that significant cost savings can be realised by health care payers, such as insurance companies and consumers, through the use of dietary supplements that have a demonstrable and substantial effect on the risk of costly disease-related events among targeted high-risk populations.
Approximately 75% of total U.S. health care expenditures are spent on preventable diseases, according to Frost & Sullivan, but only 3% of total health care expenditures are invested in disease prevention programs. A common question among policymakers, public health experts, and consumers is whether health care treatment costs can be avoided if more preventive measures are adopted. A significant amount of scientific research has been conducted examining dietary supplements, and many studies demonstrate that these supplements have a positive effect on reducing the risk of a disease event. What was missing, according to the report, was an objective and systematic assessment of the current state of scientific findings regarding the link between the use of dietary supplements and the reduction in the risk of a disease that requires costly treatment services. Frost & Sullivan examined the potential health care cost savings if people over the age of 55 at risk of those diseases use certain dietary supplements that have been shown to lower those disease risks.
The report examines the following disease conditions and dietary supplement combinations:
• Coronary heart disease (CHD) and the potential health care cost savings when using omega-3 fatty acids, three B vitamins (folic acid, B6, and B12), phytosterols, and psyllium dietary fibre
• Diabetes-attributed CHD and the potential health care cost savings when using chromium picolinate
• Age-related eye disease (ARED), specifically age-related macular degeneration and cataracts, and the potential health care cost savings when using lutein and zeaxanthin
• Osteoporosis and the potential health care cost savings when using the combination of calcium and vitamin D or when using magnesium
The report demonstrates that significant cost savings can be realised by health care payers, such as insurance companies and consumers, through the use of dietary supplements that have a demonstrable and substantial effect on the risk of costly disease- related events among targeted high-risk populations. Specifically, the report examines evidence showing that the use of key dietary supplements can reduce overall hospital utilisation costs associated with heart disease, age-related eye disease, diabetes, and bone disease in the United States among those at a high risk of experiencing a costly, disease-related event. Thus, targeted dietary supplementation regimens are recommended as a means to help control rising societal health care costs, and as a means for high- risk individuals to minimize the chance of having to deal with potentially costly events and to invest in increased quality of life.
Some of the findings include:
• Omega-3: Nearly $4 billion in cumulative net CHD-attributed cost savings from 2013 to 2020 is potentially realizable if the entire target population (U.S. adults over the age of 55 diagnosed with CHD) were to use omega-3 dietary supplements at preventive intake levels.
• B Vitamins: A cumulative 808,225 CHD- related medical events from 2013 to 2020 could be avoided if all U.S. adults over the age of 55 diagnosed with CHD were to use the B vitamins folic acid, B6, and B12 at preventive intake levels.
• Phytosterols: An average of $4.23 billion per year in avoidable hospital utilization costs is potentially realizable if all U.S. adults over the age of 55 diagnosed with CHD were to use phytosterol dietary supplements at preventive intake levels.
• Psyllium Dietary Fibre: An average annual total savings of $4.38 billion per year from 2013 to 2020 is potentially realizable if all U.S. adults over the age of 55 diagnosed with CHD were to use preventive intake levels of psyllium fiber.
• Chromium Picolinate: A cumulative 649,944 events from 2013 to 2020 could potentially be avoided if all U.S. diabetics over the age of 55 diagnosed with CHD were to use chromium picolinate dietary supplements at preventive intake levels.
• Lutein and Zeaxanthin: An average of $3.87 billion per year in avoidable health care utilization costs is potentially realizable if all U.S. adults over the age of 55 diagnosed with ARED were to use lutein and zeaxanthin dietary supplements at preventive intake levels.
• Calcium and Vitamin D: Over $12 billion in cumulative net osteoporosis-attributed cost savings is potentially realizable if the entire target population (U.S. women over the age of 55 diagnosed with osteoporosis) were to use calcium and vitamin D dietary supplements at preventive intake levels.
• Magnesium: A cumulative savings of $6.8 billion from 2013 to 2020 in avoidable hospital utilization costs is potentially realizable if all U.S. women over the age of 55 diagnosed with osteoporosis were to use magnesium dietary supplements at preventive intake levels.
According to the report, there are many ways to identify and motivate those at high risk for coronary heart disease, diabetes-related CHD, age-related eye disease, and osteoporosis, to use effective dietary supplements, including:
• the use of new technologies that identify high-risk populations before they experience costly acute treatment events;
• the use of incentives for consumers, health care professionals, and other key stakeholders to address the antecedents of disease as opposed to the utilization of acute treatment services;
• and increased general education about the economic savings to individuals and the health care system from smart prevention strategies.
Only then, said Frost & Sullivan, can an approach that utilises certain dietary supplements that have been shown scientifically to help reduce the risk of experiencing a costly disease event among high disease-risk population groups be effective at controlling potential health care costs.
