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Societal Costs of Dementia: 204 Countries, 2000-2019
Lastuka A, et al. (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation). Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 2024
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
This global study estimated how much dementia costs the world, combining formal healthcare spending with the value of unpaid family caregiving across 204 countries. In 2019, direct healthcare spending on dementia was about $261 billion, but unpaid informal caregiving added even more, about $354 billion, making up more than half of the total cost. By 2050, direct dementia healthcare spending alone is projected to reach $1.6 trillion, nearly one-tenth of all projected global health spending.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Lastuka, A., et al. (2024). Societal Costs of Dementia: 204 Countries, 2000-2019. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
Vancouver
Lastuka A, et al. Societal Costs of Dementia: 204 Countries, 2000-2019. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 2024.
BibTeX
@article{lastuka2024-cc17c386,
author = {Lastuka, A. and others},
title = {{Societal Costs of Dementia: 204 Countries, 2000-2019}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's Disease},
year = {2024}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. This record has no DOI, so the citation leaves it out. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Global direct healthcare spending on dementia was $260.6 billion in 2019
- Global informal (unpaid) caregiving costs were $354.1 billion in 2019, representing 57% of total dementia care costs
- Direct healthcare spending on dementia projected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2050, or 9.4% of projected global health spending
- Most countries lack direct cost data, so many national estimates rely on statistical imputation from countries with available data
Why it matters
This global study estimated that in 2019, direct healthcare spending on dementia was about $261 billion, but unpaid informal caregiving added even more, about $354 billion, making up more than half of the total cost. By 2050, direct dementia healthcare spending alone is projected to reach $1.6 trillion, nearly one-tenth of all projected global health spending.
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Study details
- Study designmodelling
- Effect sizeGlobal direct healthcare spending on dementia estimated at $260.6 billion in 2019 (95% UI $131.6-420.4 billion); informal care costs estimated at $354.1 billion (95% UI $190.0-544.1 billion), representing 57% of total dementia care costs; direct healthcare spending projected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2050 (9.4% of projected global health spending)
- Evidence strengthModerate
Limitations
Most countries lack direct cost-of-illness data, so estimates for many countries rely on statistical imputation (spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression) rather than direct measurement, and wide uncertainty intervals reflect this data sparsity.
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a computer model rather than new measurements. Scored zero for sample size, studied in people, randomised / blinded and indexed in PubMed because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 29 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 47 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's Disease) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 3 / 12 | A computer model rather than new measurements |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 0 / 2 | No PubMed ID and no DOI — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 29 / 62 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 29 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 47 out of 100. |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
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