Summary

This report is the latest in a series of publications on diabetes by The NHS Information Centre. It covers the period 2005/06 to 2010/11.

Key Facts

• Diabetes prevalence in England increased from 3.6 per cent in 2005/6 to 4.3 per cent in 2009/10.
• ‘Drugs for diabetes' is the BNF section of highest cost and greatest increase in cost in primary care in England over the last year.
• In 2010/11 there were 38.3 million items prescribed for diabetes at a net ingredient cost of £725.1 million.
• Prescribing for diabetes accounted for 4.1 per cent of items and 8.4 per cent of the total cost of prescribing in 2010/11 compared with 3.7 per cent and 6.6 per cent in 2005/6.
• Use of oral antidiabetic metformin rose from 8.6 million items in 2005/6 to 14.6 million items in 2010/11. This follows NICE's recommendation that this drug should be first choice for oral therapy.