Dementia costs more than 221 billion dollars a year to 30 European economies, and most of it is borne by the patients’ families themselves.

According to a study, expected to be published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, about 93 billion euros of the costs of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are from relatives, friends and other informal caregivers of the patients.

In Europe, dementia is one of the main causes of disability, dependency and mortality in the elderly. As life expectancy has increased while birth rates have fallen, the number of patients and the associated economic burden are expected to increase significantly in the coming decades.

“One of the most striking findings of the study was the extent of informal care provided by family and friends. Although the costs of treatment are substantial, most of the total burden is borne by informal, unpaid caregivers, whose contribution is often overlooked despite being essential to support and people living with dementia,” said Richard Dodel from the University of Duisburg-Essen, lead author of the study.

The study is part of a program of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), which assesses the social and economic burden of major neurological diseases in Europe. In the analysis, the researchers systematically reviewed 45 European studies on the costs of dementia, published during the period 2010-2023, and combined the results with data on the prevalence of the disease from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study.

Source: prizrenpost