Americans with diabetes nearly doubled their spending on drugs and expensive treatments for diabetes. Diabetes drug and treatments costs in the United States have almost doubled in six years.

A new study, published in this week’s issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, found the cost for diabetes drugs rose 87 percent to $12.5 billion in 2007 from $6.7 billion in 2001. Researchers used two databases to look at trends in treatment in patients ages 35 and older with Type 2 diabetes who visited doctors from 1994 to 2007. Information about medication costs was available from 2001 to 2007.

Yearly patient visits for diabetes rose to 36 million in 2007 from 25 million in 1994, and the average number of drugs per patient rose to 1.63 from 1.14. The average cost per prescription rose to $76 in 2007 from $56 in 2001.

“Diabetes is common and costly. More than one in every 10 healthcare dollars goes to treating diabetes or its complications,” said Dr. Caleb Alexander of the University of Chicago, who worked on the study.

According to the latest data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 18 million people in the United States were diagnosed with diabetes in 2007, a significant increase from 8.1 million in 1994. Nearly 24 million Americans, 8 percent of the population, have Type 2 diabetes, a condition that can lead to kidney failure, blindness and heart disease.

Researchers from the University of Chicago also questioned the effectiveness of newer drugs, which are more expensive, compared to older, cheaper treatments. Prescriptions for older and cheaper drugs fell to 34 percent from 67 percent treatment visits, while those for newer drugs, such as metformin and glitazones, increased. The study’s findings also showed that more people are prescribed more than one drug for diabetes.

Researchers called for more studies to asses the safety and effectiveness of newer drugs, adding that they may cost up to 10 times more than some of the older treatments.

The research was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the National Institutes of Health.

A second study, appearing in Monday’s Archives of Internal Medicine, shows that the older metformin may prevent deaths from heart disease while the newer alternative Avandia didn’t show that benefit. Johns Hopkins University researchers analyzed findings from 40 published trials of diabetes pills that measured heart risks. Compared to the newer treatment with Avandia, metfomin was linked to a lower risk of death from heart problems.

However, researchers need to focus more on the long term effects of older and newer drugs, in order to establish their importance during treatment. Differences between older and newer drugs were found when dealing with side effect, like the increase or decrease of cholesterol levels. Thiazolidinediones were the only drugs that increased HDL "good" cholesterol levels, but they also increased LDL "bad" cholesterol levels. Metformin reduced LDL cholesterol levels, while the other agents appeared to have no effect on cholesterol levels.

Generally the cause for type two diabetes stems from a combination of genetics and bad eating habits or obesity. It generally develops in adults over 35 years of age. While type 2 diabetes has commonly affected adults it is being seen in young adults and even children. The root cause for these cases is generally due to lack of exercise, poor diet and obesity.