Health-economic burden of dementia in South Korea

Background This population-based study estimated the health-economic costs of dementia from a societal perspective using nationally representative data from 2015 to 2019 and analysed recent trends in Korea. Methods The prevalence of and mortality due to dementia were calculated using the National He...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC geriatrics 2021-10, Vol.21 (1), p.1-549, Article 549
Main Authors: Shon, Changwoo, Yoon, Hyejung
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Aged patients
Aging
Alzheimer's disease
Burden of disease
Care and treatment
Caregivers
Cost of illness
Dementia
Dementia disorders
Economic aspects
Geriatrics
Health care expenditures
Health care policy
Health insurance
Health-economic cost
Hospital costs
Human capital
Length of stay
Long term health care
Medical care
Medical care, Cost of
Mortality
Older people
Patients
Population
Population studies
Productivity
Society
Statistics
Utilization
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Summary:Background This population-based study estimated the health-economic costs of dementia from a societal perspective using nationally representative data from 2015 to 2019 and analysed recent trends in Korea. Methods The prevalence of and mortality due to dementia were calculated using the National Health Insurance claims data and population census. The health-economic burden due to dementia was estimated using a prevalence-based approach, including the number of dementia patients and the number of deaths resulting from dementia during 2015-2019. The health-economic burden was presented separately as the national burden and the burden per capita by summing the direct and indirect costs. Results Between 2015 and 2019, the prevalence of dementia among the elderly aged 65 years or older based on clinical diagnosis increased from 5.9 to 7.3%, with approximately 588000 elderly dementia patients in Korea. The total health-economic cost of dementia increased by about 1.5 times in the last 5 years and was estimated to be about USD 4218 million. Direct costs were 52.0% in 2019, and the proportion has been steadily increasing over the past 5 years; indirect costs accounted for 48.0% of the total burden, mainly from family members and caregivers. The health-economic cost per capita due to dementia was approximately USD 6957. Conclusions The burden of dementia in Korea is expected to considerably increase alongside the elderly population in the future. Health policies addressing the prevention and management of dementia should be prioritised. Keywords: Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Burden of disease, Health-economic cost, Cost of illness
ISSN:1471-2318
1471-2318
DOI:10.1186/s12877-021-02526-x