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A Longitudinal Analysis of the Lifetime Cost of Dementia
Author(s) -
Yang Zhou,
Zhang Kun,
Lin PeiJung,
Clevenger Carolyn,
Atherly Adam
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
health services research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.706
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1475-6773
pISSN - 0017-9124
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2011.01365.x
Subject(s) - dementia , cohort , medicine , gerontology , cohort study , body mass index , demography , population , environmental health , disease , sociology
Objective Estimate the lifetime cost of dementia to M edicare and M edicaid. Data Source 1997–2005 M edicare C urrent B eneficiary S urvey. Study Design A multistage analysis was conducted to first predict the probability of developing dementia by age and then predict the annual M edicare/ M edicaid expenditures conditional on dementia status. A cohort‐based simulation was conducted to estimate the lifetime cost of dementia. Principal Findings The average lifetime cost of dementia per patient for M edicare is approximately $12,000 (2005 dollars) and for M edicaid about $11,000. Dementia onset at older age leads to shorter duration and lower lifetime cost. Increased educational level leads to longer longevity, more dementia cases per cohort, but shorter duration, and lower lifetime cost per patient, which could offset the cost increase induced by more dementia cases. Increased body mass index leads to more dementia cases per cohort and higher lifetime cost per patient. Conclusion Net cost of dementia is lower than the estimates from cross‐sectional studies. Promoting healthy lifestyle to reverse the obesity epidemic is a short‐term priority to confront the epidemic of dementia in the near future. Promoting higher education among the younger generation is a long‐term priority to mitigate the effect of population aging on the dementia epidemic in the distant future.