The cost burden of Alzheimer’s Disease on care partners

Abstract

BackgroundAlzheimer’s Disease (AD) has significant impact on care partners. We conducted a systematic literature review to assess the economic impact of AD with special attention to care partners and disease progression.MethodA protocol was developed before searches in PubMed, Embase and PsycINFO were run November 2021 via the Silvi.ai‐platform. Conduct of the systematic literature review followed standard guidelines. Eligible studies were in English and provided data from earliest Jan 2011 – Nov 2021.ResultOf 1043 identified hits, 25 studies were relevant for data extraction. AD costs were defined heterogeneously between studies, however most studies included AD drugs, out‐ and inpatient visits as well as non‐AD drugs (anti‐psychotics, supplements etc).7 of the 25 studies specifically explored the cost burden of AD for care partners; hours needed to support the partner, loss of work productivity, and implications for future employability.Monthly cost of caretaking was similar across studies and countries and varied between €643 ‐ €1050 for mild AD in Germany and Spain, €804‐ €1329 for moderate AD in France and Germany, to €1515 ‐ €2376 for severe AD in UK and Germany, respectively. The major cost driver was severity of the clinical status of the patient.Only few studies reported on work impairment of care partners. A study comparing matched care partners vs. non‐care partner demonstrated significantly higher activity impairment (25.4% vs. 21.8%), greater absenteeism (5.4% vs.3.1%), presenteeism‐related impairment (22.7% vs. 18.4%), and overall work impairment (25.8% vs. 20.4%). Same pattern, showing an increase in work impairment with AD severity was seen across countries (US, Japan and EU5).ConclusionMost identified studies focused on the cost burden on society or patients. In 7 studies reporting cost impact on care partners, the cost burden was very similar across countries and health care systems. Cost impact on care partners increased from early to severe AD. In particular, work impairment increased significantly with AD severity. However, more research is needed to identify the true cost burden for care partners.