OBJECTIVE

To assess the long-term cost-effectiveness of aspirin use among adults aged ≥40 years with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We used a validated cost-effectiveness model of type 2 diabetes to assess the lifetime health and cost consequences of use or nonuse of aspirin. The model simulates the progression of diabetes and accompanying complications for a cohort of subjects with type 2 diabetes. The model predicts the outcomes of type 2 diabetes along five disease paths (nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, coronary heart disease, and stroke) from the time of diagnosis until age 94 years or until death.

RESULTS

Over a lifetime, aspirin users gained 0.31 life-years (LY) or 0.19 quality-adjusted LYs (QALYs) over nonaspirin users, at an incremental cost of $1,700; the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of aspirin use was $5,428 per LY gained or $8,801 per QALY gained. In probabilistic sensitivity analyses, the ICER was <$30,000 per QALY in all of 2,000 realizations in two scenarios.

CONCLUSIONS

Regular use of aspirin among people with newly diagnosed diabetes is cost-effective.

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