To estimate the costs of dementia, Swedish scientists examined the additional costs that the healthcare system must bear: A high need for care arises ten years before a formal dementia diagnosis.
The aim of the Swedish study was to investigate the healthcare costs associated with dementia over a 17-year period. To do this, scientists analyzed over 21,000 official administrative register data from people with different types of dementia. The study included costs incurred around the diagnosis over the entire 17-year period: ten years before, during, and six years after the dementia diagnosis. In the study, the authors point out that cognitive impairments can become noticeable as early as 18 years before the onset of Alzheimer's dementia.
Increased costs
The central finding underscores the importance of healthcare needs in economic and political decision-making. Costs increased by 13 to 25 percent as early as ten years before a formal dementia diagnosis was made.
In the year of diagnosis, healthcare costs for people with dementia doubled compared to the previous year and were 118 percent higher than in the cognitively healthy control group. This corresponded to a difference of an average of 44,410 Swedish Kronor, equivalent to 4,259.81 Euros.
No significant difference
However, healthcare costs look different for the period after diagnosis: it was associated with a significant decrease in costs. Just 4 to 6 years after diagnosis, no significant difference in costs was observed compared to the cognitively healthy control group. The Swedish scientists attribute the decrease in costs after the dementia diagnosis, among other things, to the possibility that people with diagnosed dementia may be given less priority within the healthcare system.
Here is the link to the study:
Healthcare costs of dementia diseases Before, during, and after diagnosis: Longitudinal analysis of 17 years of Swedish register data
