The insurer AXA handled more than 20,000 events related to digestive issues in 2024, with an average treatment cost of around 100,000 pesos. Among the most common digestive diseases are gastrointestinal ones. David Sánchez, director of Health Claims at AXA Mexico, highlights that these ailments reflect eating habits, a sedentary lifestyle, and a lack of timely medical attention.
"Many people ignore the initial symptoms or self-medicate, which leads them not to seek specialist care until the condition is severe, resulting in more complications and high costs," Sánchez commented. The treatment costs for these diseases often reach 100 thousand pesos, reflecting the importance of eating habits and early medical attention.
According to the Ministry of Health, there were 4.3 million cases of intestinal diseases recorded in Mexico in 2024, representing an increase of 240,000 cases compared to the previous year. These figures show that digestive disorders are becoming increasingly common in the Mexican population.
In the case of AXA Mexico, these diseases were the most recurrent among its more than 1.5 million clients in Major Medical Expenses (GMM). This considerably increases the cost of medical care, as patients are usually hospitalized for between two and five days; only 1% of patients who arrive at emergencies are discharged on the same day.
Additionally, in 2024, AXA recorded more than 5,000 cases of emergencies due to gastroenteritis or diarrhea, with July being the month with the highest incidence due to high temperatures that pose a greater risk of these diseases. To reduce the severity and cost of these ailments, David Sánchez recommends adopting a preventive approach and emphasizes that "with proper medical follow-up, it is possible to avoid most digestive disorders."
