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The cost of Alzheimer's disease in China and re-estimation of costs worldwide
Jia J, Wei C, Chen S, Li F, Tang Y, Qin W, Zhao L, Jin H et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2018-02-09
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Introduction The socioeconomic costs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in China and its impact on global economic burden remain uncertain. Methods We collected data from 3098 patients with AD in 81 representative centers across China and estimated AD costs for individual patient and total patients in China in 2015. Based on this data, we re-estimated the worldwide costs of AD. Results The annual socioeconomic cost per patient was US $19,144.36, and total costs were US $167.74 billion in 2015. The annual total costs are predicted to reach US $507.49 billion in 2030 and US $1.89 trillion in 2050. Based on our results, the global estimates of costs for dementia were US $957.56 billion in 2015, and will be US $2.54 trillion in 2030, and US $9.12 trillion in 2050, much more than the predictions by the World Alzheimer Report 2015. Discussion China bears a heavy burden of AD costs, which greatly change the estimates of AD cost worldwide.
Key findings
- Results The annual socioeconomic cost per patient was US $19,144.36, and total costs were US $167.74 billion in 2015.
- Based on our results, the global estimates of costs for dementia were US $957.56 billion in 2015, and will be US $2.54 trillion in 2030, and US $9.12 trillion in 2050, much more than the predictions by the World Alzheimer Report 2015.
Why it matters
Using data from 3,098 patients at 81 centres across China, this study put the 2015 cost of Alzheimer's disease at about US $19,144 per patient per year and US $167.74 billion for China in total, projecting US $1.89 trillion by 2050. Building on those figures, the authors re-estimated global dementia costs at US $957.56 billion in 2015, which they say is much higher than the World Alzheimer Report 2015 predicted. It measures cost only; the 2030 and 2050 figures are projections, and the study does not test any treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Participants3,098
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 63/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 3,098 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 749 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 74.9 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 34.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 23 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 315 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Serge G. Gauthier: h-index 121 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | McGill University: institution h-index 1,373 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 38 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29433981) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 63 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Jia, J., Wei, C., Chen, S., Li, F., Tang, Y., Qin, W., et al. (2018). The cost of Alzheimer's disease in China and re-estimation of costs worldwide. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2017.12.006
Vancouver
Jia J, Wei C, Chen S, Li F, Tang Y, Qin W, et al. The cost of Alzheimer's disease in China and re-estimation of costs worldwide. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2017.12.006. PMID: 29433981.
BibTeX
@article{jia2018-29433981,
author = {Jia, J. and Wei, C. and Chen, S. and Li, F. and Tang, Y. and Qin, W. and Zhao, L. and Jin, H. and others},
title = {{The cost of Alzheimer's disease in China and re-estimation of costs worldwide}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/j.jalz.2017.12.006},
pmid = {29433981},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2017.12.006}
}
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