Featured ArticleThe financial burden and health care utilization patterns associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment

•Patients with amnestic MCI have more direct medical spending than cognitively normal patients.•Having amnestic MCI is linked to greater utilization of inpatient and palliative health services relative to cognitively normal patients.•Patients with amnestic MCI are less likely to use outpatient services and to visit doctors than cognitively normal patients.•Patients with amnestic MCI patients have less expenditures than patients with AD dementia.•Poor cognitive status is associated with lower household income.

IntroductionIndividuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are at elevated risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia.MethodsWith data from the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study, we used the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes classifications to conduct a cross-sectional analysis assessing the relationship between cognitive state and various direct and indirect costs and health care utilization patterns.ResultsPatients with aMCI had less medical expenditures than patients with moderate and severe AD dementia (P < .001) and were also significantly less likely to have been hospitalized (P = .04) and admitted to nursing home (P < .001). Compared to individuals with normal cognition, patients with aMCI had significantly less household income (P = .018).DiscussionPatients with aMCI had lower medical expenditures than patients with AD dementia. Poor cognitive status was linearly associated with lower household income, higher medical expenditures, higher likelihood of nursing and home care services, and lower likelihood of outpatient visits.