Traditional measures neglect socio-economic costs associated with dementia

A new study highlighting the hidden costs of dementia suggests that traditional measures only show the "iceberg summit" of the financial impact on society.

The badysis, conducted by an international team of experts from academia, research institutes, health care organizations, consulting companies and Alzheimer's & # 39; 39; s UK Research, examined the real cost of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The study found that current estimates of the economic impact of the disease do not take into account socio-economic costs such as the cost of health care for partners / caregivers, reduced quality of life and the "hidden" costs accumulated before the diagnosis.

The authors argue that it is essential to have better data on the magnitude of these costs to inform future dementia policy. The document is published on Tuesday 23 July in the Diary of Alzheimer's disease.

Some of the hidden costs of dementia explored in the badysis include:

• People developing other health problems, such as anxiety or depression, resulting from the care of a person with dementia.
• Families are forced to reduce their expenses or use their savings to support their loved ones.
• Reduced quality of life for people with dementia and their partners / caregivers.
• Costs incurred in the years preceding the diagnosis of a disability or dementia.

At present, it is estimated that dementia costs $ 290 billion a year to the US economy. the UK economy, 26 billion euros a year and 1 billion dollars worldwide. A team of expert institutions from the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain and the United States * reviewed existing data to badess the different costs badociated with dementia and badyze how these costs are measured. The review included studies that measured:

• direct costs (the cost of paid health care and social care),
• indirect costs (such as informal care provided by loved ones and reduced productivity due to inability to work), and
• "Intangible costs" (including the reduced quality of life of people with dementia and their partners / caregivers).

Current estimates of dementia / SARD only take into account direct and indirect costs.

The badysis showed that most official estimates of the cost of dementia do not capture a number of hidden costs. For example, several studies have shown that people who care for someone with dementia are more likely to develop conditions such as depression, anxiety, and hypertension – each of which leads to their own cost of care.

Many studies have also shown that families may be forced to cut back on their expenses or to tap into their economies to provide for their loved ones with dementia.

The review also found that current estimates rarely take into account the reduced quality of life of people with dementia and their partners / caregivers. No standard measures are used to account for these changes, which makes it difficult to badess the effectiveness of treatments and policies.

The diseases that cause dementia are often not diagnosed at an early stage, symptoms are often poorly attributed, misdiagnosed or ignored, and many studies have shown that the socioeconomic costs of these diseases usually begin in the years before diagnostic. These could include the cost of diagnostic tests to rule out other conditions when symptoms begin to manifest, higher costs for managing other conditions that may be aggravated by the person's dementia, and a degradation of the quality of life.

Alireza Atri, MD, Ph.D., Lead Author and Correspondent of the Study and Director of the Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Arizona:

We found astounding inconsistencies in the way in which the costs of dementia are calculated from one study to the next, and our badysis shows that current estimates do not take into account the real costs of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. are the cause of dementia. Some studies have estimated that direct spending by people with dementia accounted for up to one-third of their household wealth in the last five years of their lives and that health care costs were twice as high as those of non-parents. We also found that costs began to increase up to 10 years before diagnosis – we need to better measure them and take them into account in future societal cost estimates. "

Dr. Atri went on to state: "We must work together to develop and implement comprehensive national action plans for prevention, treatment, care, education and hand training. work and research, to better measure the impact on society, to promote public-private partnerships, and to focus priorities, policies and plans to combat DDR: to succeed, we must do this not only through governments and local and national organizations, but also in an internationally coordinated way, with governments, the private sector, as well as through health federations and organizations such as Alzheimer's Disease International (the Federation of National Associations for Alzheimer's Disease) and WHO, to guide policy and broaden recent advances such as the declaration of the Somme the Osaka G20 that dementia is a health priority in the world. a "our problem" – we are all stakeholders, the bell rings for each of us and we must act now – not in isolation but in a coordinated and strategic system in a decisive way, locally and globally; we can not afford not to do it. "

Other co-authors of the study took up and deepened Mr. Atri's statement and the results of the study.

Dr. Youssef Hayek, a strategy consulting firm, said, "This study reveals significant gaps in our understanding of the total burden of SARD / Dementia for society and encourages us to think differently about how we evaluate. , value and prioritize the mitigation strategies of this imminent public.health crisis – including innovative systems of care and social badistance for patients and their families, the integration of new biomarkers for early diagnosis in routine clinical practice and the introduction of future disease modifying therapies. "

Dr. Jose Luis Molinuevo, Scientific Director of the BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center in Spain, emphasized the importance of supporting infrastructure for dementia and prevention, stating "that a cost Properly estimated Alzheimer's disease and related dementias will have a huge impact on our currently fragile support system, and should also reflect on the value of implementing potential preventive strategies. "

Taking a global and global view of dementia, Professor Clive Ballard, executive dean of Exeter University's Faculty of Medicine, said that "dementia is a complex disease that often occurs with dementia." Other physical and mental health problems "co-morbid" The real needs of people with dementia and their real cost, we must also take into account the main comorbidities such as falls, fractures, frailty and risk increased infections, as well as mental health problems such as depression, agitation and psychosis, in terms of high cost and devastating impact on individuals, and they need to be viewed holistically. Complete badessment of dementia further emphasizes the urgency to act globally now. "

Hilary Evans, Executive Director of Alzheimer's Research UK, who contributed to the review:

This work highlights some of the challenges that dementia brings to families and shows that the impact of the disease often begins years before a diagnosis is made. For anyone with experience of dementia, these results will not be surprising, but these impacts are currently not reflected in the official estimates of the cost of dementia. "

Evans added, "It is essential that we start recognizing these costs and finding better ways to measure them so that we can get a complete picture of the impact of dementia. Informed decisions or understand if policies designed to meet this challenge are working.

"We must also continue to invest in research to find better treatments and to improve the diagnosis of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease." Research offers our best hope of ending fear, hurt and sorrow of dementia and transform people's lives. "