The economic impact of dementia

Background

This series of reports, commissioned by Alzheimer’s Society from Carnall Farrar, looks at the the current and future economic and healthcare costs of dementia in the UK. The cost of dementia in the UK is forecast to be £42 billion in 2024, rising to £90 billion in 2040.

The three modules (published below) investigate the costs of diagnosis and care in the UK using detailed healthcare data. These reports show the impact of dementia on the health system, and the role that early diagnosis and symptomatic treatment can play in reducing system pressures and lowering the likelihood of crises faced by people with dementia.

This study is one of the largest UK studies of healthcare utilisation for people living with dementia, using a study cohort of 26,097 people with dementia across North West London. The study uses a unique, data-driven approach, leveraging linked record-level patient data from primary and secondary care, mental health services, community care, and prescribing records. This data was used to identify real per-person healthcare costs. In addition, the study goes beyond health and social care costs, including factors like quality of life and loss of economic consumption. It also estimates the healthcare costs for people with undiagnosed dementia compared to those with a formal diagnosis.

Key Findings

• There are currently estimated to be 982,000 people living with dementia in the UK, rising to 1.4 million in 2040.
• The cost of dementia in the UK is forecast to be £42 billion in 2024, rising to £90 billion by 2040.
• The average per person costs associated with mild, moderate and severe dementia are estimated to be £28,700, £42900, and £80,500 respectively, with increase in cost by severity driven by increasing need of complex care.
• The growth in dementia means that, by 2040, there will 6.9 million additional primary care contacts associated with dementia, requiring an estimated 1.7 million more hours of primary care time.    
• People with undiagnosed dementia attend A&E on average 1.5 times per year, which is higher than attendances for diagnosed mild, moderate, and severe dementia patients, and three times higher than attendances for patients without dementia.
• There are interventions that can keep people well for longer and in their own homes.
• For AChE inhibitors: Though these treatments are not effective for everyone, for those in whom they are effective at slowing cognitive decline there is a potential saving of up to £8,000 - £45,000 per person through delayed admission to care homes.