The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the inequities that exist in many countries worldwide. Access to health services and the cost of services due to the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases are some of the issues that countries have had to contend with. Those with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes have had to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis. The aim of this study is to estimate the hospital costs attributable to obesity, diabetes and hypertension in COVID-19 patients in South Africa. A prevalence-based disease-specific cost of illness approach was conducted to estimate the direct medical costs of hypertension, obesity and diabetes in COVID-19 patients. The population attributable fraction was computed and multiplied by the total treatment cost of COVID-19. A total of 78, 464 hospital admissions were included based on data collected for Wave 1 (D614G variant) between June and August 2020. The direct healthcare costs attributed to hypertension in COVID-19 admissions were estimated to be approximately US2. 7 million. The total costs of admissions attributed to obesity were estimated to be approximately US1. 2 million. The cost attributable to diabetes was estimated to be approximately US1. 7 million across the public sector wards. COVID-19 patients with an additional diagnosis of hypertension, obesity and diabetes have shown to exert a heavy financial burden on South Africa's healthcare system. The study emphasizes the importance of investing in the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as a key component of future pandemic planning and response strategies. Preventing underlying conditions such as NCDs can decrease costs and mortality, and help populations better withstand future pandemics.
Kreeftenberg et al. (Tue,) studied this question.