Intervention-only programmes were in general more cost effective than programmes that also included a screening component .
The longer the period evaluated , the more cost-effective interventions appeared .
There was insufficient evidence to answer the question of ( 1 ) whether lifestyle programmes are more cost effective than metformin or ( 2 ) whether low-intensity lifestyle interventions are more cost effective than the more intensive lifestyle programmes that were tested in trials .
OBJECTIVE Explore the cost-effectiveness of lifestyle interventions and metformin in reducing subsequent incidence of type 2 diabetes  , both alone and in combination with a screening programme to identify high-risk individuals .
Lifestyle intervention to prevent diabetes in men and women with impaired glucose tolerance is cost-effective.
OBJECTIVES The Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study ( DPS ) was a r and omized intervention program that evaluated the effect of intensive lifestyle modification on the development of diabetes mellitus type 2 in patients with impaired glucose tolerance . As such , a program is dem and ing in terms of re sources ; it is necessary to assess whether it would be money well spent . This determination was the purpose of this study . METHODS We developed a simulation model to assess the economic consequences of an intervention like the one studied in DPS in a Swedish setting . The model used data from the trial itself to assess the effect of intervention on the risk of diabetes and on risk factors for cardiovascular disease . Results from the United Kingdom Prospect i ve Diabetes Study were used to estimate the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke . Cost data were derived from Swedish studies . The intervention was assumed to be applied to eligible patients from a population -based screening program of 60-year-olds in the County of Stockholm from which the baseline characteristics of the patients was used . RESULTS The model predicted that implementing the program would be cost-saving from the healthcare payers ' perspective . Furthermore , it was associated with an increase in estimated survival of .18 years . Taking into consideration the increased consumption by patients due to their longer survival , the predicted cost-effectiveness ratio was 2,363 euro per quality -adjusted life-year gained . CONCLUSIONS Lifestyle intervention directed toward high-risk subjects would be cost-saving for the healthcare payer and highly cost-effective for society as a whole
Intervention-only programmes were in general more cost effective than programmes that also included a screening component .
The longer the period evaluated , the more cost-effective interventions appeared .
There was insufficient evidence to answer the question of ( 1 ) whether lifestyle programmes are more cost effective than metformin or ( 2 ) whether low-intensity lifestyle interventions are more cost effective than the more intensive lifestyle programmes that were tested in trials .
OBJECTIVE Explore the cost-effectiveness of lifestyle interventions and metformin in reducing subsequent incidence of type 2 diabetes  , both alone and in combination with a screening programme to identify high-risk individuals .