Economic effect of cholinesterase inhibitor therapy: implications for managed care.
The growing elderly population is at great risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). In 1997, annual costs associated with AD were 100 billion dollars. Cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) therapy is most commonly used to manage patients with AD, but the economic implications arising from their use are not well known. A review of studies assessing the cost effectiveness of ChEIs suggests that ChEI therapy provides benefit at every stage of disease, with better outcomes resulting from persistent, uninterrupted treatment. The cost savings range from 73 dollars over two years to 3891 dollars over one year, depending on the type of study, drug evaluated, and economic model employed in the evaluation.
Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Bronx Veterans Administration Medical Center, Bronx, New York 10468, USA. mary.sano@mssm.edu
Mary
M
Sano
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D017046:Cost Savings; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017850:Economics, Pharmaceutical; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000191:economics; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors