Diabetes-specific formulas are an effective alternative for providing nutrients and maintaining glycemic control. This study assesses the effect of treatment with an oral enteral nutrition with a hypercaloric diabetes-specific formula (HDSF) for one year, on health-care resources use, health-care costs, glucose control and nutritional status, in 93 type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) malnourished patients. Changes in health-care resources use and health-care costs were collected the year before and during the year of intervention. Glucose status and nutritional laboratory parameters were analyzed at baseline and one-year after the administration of HDSF. The administration of HDSF was significantly associated with a reduced use of health-care resources, fewer hospital admissions (54.7%; p < 0.001), days spent at hospital (64.1%; p < 0.001) and emergency visits (57.7%; p < 0.001). Health-care costs were reduced by 65.6% (p < 0.001) during the intervention. Glycemic control (short- and long-term) and the need of pharmacological treatment did not change, while some nutritional parameters were improved at one year (albumin: +10.6%, p < 0.001; hemoglobin: +6.4%, p = 0.026). In conclusion, using HDSF in malnourished older type-2 diabetic patients may allow increasing energy intake while maintaining glucose control and improving nutritional parameters. The use of health-care resources and costs were significantly reduced during the nutritional intervention.
Keywords: diabetes enteral formula; diabetes mellitus; heath care cost; malnutrition.