Healthcare costs of dementia diseases before, during and after diagnosis : Longitudinal analysis of 17 years of Swedish register data

Summary, in English

Introduction: This study examines health-care costs attributed to dementia diseases in the 10 years prior to, during, and 6 years after diagnosis. Methods: Using administrative register data for people diagnosed with dementia (2010–2016) in southern Sweden (n = 21,184), and a comparison group without dementia, health-care costs over 17 years were examined using longitudinal regression analysis. Results: Average annual health-care costs per person were consistently higher before diagnosis in the dementia group (10 years before: Swedish krona (SEK) 2063, P <.005 and 1 year before: SEK8166, P <.005). At diagnosis, health-care costs were more than twice as high (SEK44,410, P <.005). Four to 6 years after diagnosis, there was no significant different in costs compared to comparators. Discussion: Excess health-care cost arise as early as 10 years before a formal diagnosis of dementia, and while there is a spike in cost after diagnosis, health-care costs are no different 4 years after. These findings question currently accepted assumptions on costs of dementia.

• Author: Sofie Persson; Sanjib Saha; Ulf-G. Gerdtham; Håkan Toresson; Dominic Trepel; Johan Jarl
• Department/s: Health Economics; Centre for Economic Demography; Department of Economics; MultiPark: Multidisciplinary research focused on Parkinson´s disease; Clinical Memory Research
• Publishing year: 2022-02-21
• Language: English
• Pages: 2560-2569
• Publication/Series: Alzheimer's & Dementia
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 12
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/alz.12619
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Wiley
• Topic: Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology; Geriatrics
• Keywords: Alzheimer´s disease; dementia; diagnosis; health-care costs; Sweden
• Status: Published
• Research group: Health Economics; Clinical Memory Research
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1552-5279