Costs of Alzheimer disease skyrocket

The cost of treating and caring for an outpatient (non-hospitalized) in Canada with Alzheimer disease (AD) increases dramatically as it progresses in severity, confirms a new study.

"Delaying the progression of Alzheimer disease will not only significantly improve quality of life for patients and families, but will also reduce the indirect costs and burden to caregivers and society, as the costs of caring for patients living in the community are staggering," says Dr. Nathan Herrmann, principal investigator of the study and geriatric psychiatrist at Sunnybrook.

Direct medical costs include hospitalization, physician visits, and medication. Indirect medical costs include home care by informal caregivers, such as family and friends, and loss of productivity by both the patient and the caregiver.  

"The greatest changes in cost were observed in the most severe group of AD patients," says Dr. Krista Lanctôt, co-investigator of the study and neuropharmacologist at Sunnybrook.

"For patients with severe or very severe AD, the cost is close to $50,000 yearly...for patients with very mild AD, the cost is under $5,000 yearly,"  she adds.

This research is published in the December 2010 issue of The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.