February 08, 2024
One Health Trust researcher Dr. Arindam Nandi co-authored a study that found that the formal cost of care per patient for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRDs) in 2016 in the United States was US$64,745 (95% confidence interval: $61,740-$67,909). Using national longitudinal data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Survey (2010-2016), the researchers estimated that Americans spent an estimated $196 billion (95% uncertainty range: $179-$213 billion) on direct medical costs for ADRDs in 2020. This value was projected to increase to $1.4 trillion (95% UR: $837 billion-$2.2 trillion) by 2060, assuming an unchanged growth rate of ADRD prevalence.
These findings demonstrate that the United States contributes substantially to the growing global economic burden of ADRDs and will continue to do so until at least 2060. Furthermore, systemic inequities create a disproportionate burden of ADRDs among Black, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Hispanic American groups, among which the number of senior individuals living with ADRDs is expected to increase approximately 3, 4.7, and 5.4 times, respectively, compared to a 1.7 times increase among non-Hispanic White Americans.
Effective investments in the research, prevention, and care of ADRDs is needed to mitigate their health and economic burdens, particularly among vulnerable populations in the United States.
Read the full article, published in npj aging, here.
