Introduction and Aim: As the prevalence and incidence of dia The Cost Analysis  betes mellitus (DM) continue to rise, the costs of the diagnostic strategies used to detect it have gained importance. The aim of this study was to analyze the cost of DM diagnostic strategies in a hospital setting.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was consist of people who was older than 18 years old, had not been diagnosed as DM and admitted to the internal medicine outpatient clinics with any reason and gone under a laboratory test determining blood glucose level within 3-months period. The coverage level of the study was 67,09 %. Decision tree analysis was used to calculate weighted costs of the various diagnostic methods.

Results: The study included 520 people. The prevalence of DM and pre-DM was 16.3% and 15.0%, respectively. During the study period, the total cost of all tests used was 2164.40 USD, the average cost per person was 4.14 USD, and the average cost per diagnosis was 25.46 USD. The most cost-effective strategy for the diagnosis of DM was FPG and HbA_1c tests requested together, while strategies using FPG testing were most cost-effective for the diagnosis of non-DM.

Discussion and Recommendations: The diagnostic strategies recommended in national and international guidelines are considerably less costly than many of the strategies used in our hospital. Costs could be lowered by ensuring physicians are aware of and implementing more cost-effective diagnostic strategies.

Key words: cost, cost-effectiveness, decision tree, diabetes mellitus, diagnosis