[The cost of informal care associated to incapacitating neurological disease having high prevalence in Spain].
BACKGROUND
The aim of the present work is to review the Spanish literature on informal care cost in patients with a high prevalence of incapacitating neurological diseases. Stroke, dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis were distinguished in this group.


METHODS
The different methods of evaluation of the informal care were also reviewed prior to analyzing the national literature on the topic. A systematical search was done in MEDLINE, ECONLIT, ABI-INFORM, CSIC data bases, IME (Index Medicus) and ISOC databases. Google was also used for searching <<grey literature>>. Initially, approximately 300 national and international articles were identified and reviewed. Only 11 works were selected to be included and analyzed in depth. Only articles that estimated informal costs from a patient sample of one of the mention diseases considered to fulfill the inclusion criteria.


RESULTS
Seven articles referred to Alzheimer's disease, three to stroke, and one to multiple sclerosis.


CONCLUSIONS
In spite of the difficulty of comparing studies of different countries and of the methodological differences between the Spanish studies, there is an agreement that the non-health care costs (informal and indirect costs) had a greater weight than the health care ones on the total estimated cost of each one of the diseases studies.
Jorgensen
N
N
Seminario de Estudios Sociales de la Salud y los Medicamentos, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Cabañas
M
M
Oliva
J
J
Rejas
J
J
León
T
T
D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology