| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
| Alzheimer's disease: a review of current economic perspectives | | Author(s) | Alan Stewart |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 18, part 5, September 1998 |
| Pages | pp 585-600 |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Costs [care] ; Services ; Health services ; Drugs ; Family care. |
| Annotation | Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most widely known of the organic disorders described as dementia. This paper reviews the current economic perspectives of AD. It is apparent, both in the United States (US) and in the United Kingdom (UK), that AD imposes a large economic burden in terms of both formal and informal costs. There is a heavy burden on informal caregivers and on agencies providing social services and residential accommodation. The progress of AD results in declining levels of functioning and increased dependency for patients, factors linked to higher needs for care. Evidence from clinical trials indicates that some drugs may retard the effects of this decline. Economic evaluations of treatments has focused on drug therapies and their ability to alter this progress. One suggestion is that, through delaying the decline and consequent institutionalisation of the patient, effective drug therapy would have economic benefits and reduce health service costs, but this point has not been clearly demonstrated and is open to question. (AKM). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990311404 A |
| Classmark | EA: QDC: I: L: LLD: P6:SJ |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|