title: Net costs of dementia by disease stage.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate net costs of dementia by degree of severity from a societal perspective, including a detailed assessment of costs of formal and informal nursing care.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional study, costs of illness were analysed in 176 dementia patients and 173 matched non-demented control subjects. Healthcare resource use and costs were assessed retrospectively by means of a questionnaire. Dementia patients were classified into three disease stages, and linear regression models were applied to estimate net costs of dementia by degree of severity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Annual net costs of dementia by stage were approximately €15 000 (mild), €32 000 (moderate) and €42 000 (severe), corresponding to US-$21 450, 45 760 and 60 060 respectively. Across disease stages, nursing care accounted for approximately three-quarters of total costs, of which half resulted from informal care. In sensitivity analyses using different valuation methods for nursing care, total costs decreased or increased by more than 20%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Net costs more than double across stages of dementia. Informal care accounts for a considerable share of nursing care costs, and the approach to valuation of informal care has a large impact on cost-of-illness estimates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sociology and Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. h.leicht@uke.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leicht
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heider
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bachmann
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bickel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van den Bussche
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luppa
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mösch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pentzek
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Rieder-Heller
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tebarth
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Werle
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weyerer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wiese
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: H-H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: König
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000191:economics*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors