While recent reports have found that Alzheimer’s is “the most expensive disease in America,” costing society more than a quarter of a trillion dollars, a new analysis suggests that Alzheimer’s economic impact is even greater than current estimates.
A team of experts from universities, research institutes, health care organizations and Alzheimer’s Research UK looked at the actual cost of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia in a research report published yesterday in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: “Tip of the Iceberg: Assessing the Global Socioeconomic Costs of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias and Strategic Implications for Stakeholders.”
They found that current estimates ignore socioeconomic costs like the price caregivers pay for health care, the impact of dementia on quality of life and other “hidden costs.”
Read the full article from Being Patient.