Gender Differences: A Lifetime Analysis of the Economic Burden of Alzheimer's Disease

BackgroundGender is one of the best-established differences in risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia, with women being at greater risk. However, the financial implications are unknown. This study aims at understanding the economic burden of AD by gender.MethodThis study takes a life-time perspective to investigate the burden of AD over the course of the disease. Nationally representative Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data were used to estimate the course of illness of AD from age 65 to death and the incremental costs of AD on Medicare and Medicaid. Published data on the use and costs of assisted living facilities, home health care, and informal care were imputed into the course of illness to calculate the lifetime costs of these services.ResultsFemales and males have distinctively different patterns of course of illness of AD. Women face higher risks of having AD (15.5% vs. 13.1%) and of serving as informal caregivers for AD patients (6.8% vs. 4.0%) before death. Medicare and Medicaid account for major payers of AD care for both genders, but the greatest economic challenge of AD to women is the cost of the informal care they deliver, resulting in women bearing six times the cost of men.ConclusionPublic policy interventions that aim at curing or slowing the progress of AD will greatly benefit the welfare and economic status of women.