Early start of anti-dementia medication is associated with lower health and social care costs in Alzheimer´s patients: a Finnish nationwide register study

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the association between health and social care costs and early start of anti-dementia medication in a nationwide cohort of Finnish Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Methods: The cohort included 7454 Finnish AD patients who had their first AD diagnosis in 2012 and lived at home at the time of diagnosis. Data were collected retrospectively from the Finnish national health and social care registers. The primary outcome was 2-year cumulative direct costs after the incident AD diagnosis. The exploratory variable was early anti-dementia medication start (anti-dementia medication started within 3 months of the incident AD diagnosis). Sociodemographic variables, admission to 24-h care and care intensity level, as well as comorbidities were considered as adjusting variables.

Results: Of all patients, 88.9% started AD medication within 3 months of diagnosis. The 2-year cumulative costs were €30,787 and €40,484 per patient for early and late starters, respectively. When adjusted for possible confounders, early start of anti-dementia medication was associated with 26.5% lower 2-year cumulative costs compared to late starters (relative cost 0.735; p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Early diagnosis and start of anti-dementia medication is important for managing the costs of increasing number of AD patients.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Costs; Healthcare; Institutionalization; Medication; Social care.