Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Incremental Healthcare Costs of Dementia and Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Sheets KM, Fink HA, Langsetmo L, Kats AM, Schousboe JT, Yaffe K, Ensrud KE. Incremental Healthcare Costs of Dementia and Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2025 Feb 15.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment and dementia are associated with higher healthcare costs; whether these increased costs are attributable to greater comorbidity burden is unknown. We sought to determine associations of cognitive impairment and dementia with subsequent total and sector-specific healthcare costs after accounting for comorbidities and to compare costs by method of case ascertainment. METHODS: Index examinations (2002-2011) of four prospective cohort studies linked with Medicare claims. 8,165 community-dwelling Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (4,318 women; 3,847 men). Cognitive impairment identified by self-or-proxy report of dementia and/or abnormal cognitive testing. Claims-based dementia and comorbidities derived from claims using Chronic Condition Warehouse algorithms. Annualized healthcare costs (2023 dollars) ascertained for 36 months following index examinations. RESULTS: 521 women (12.1%) and 418 men (10.9%) met criteria for cognitive impairment; 388 women (9%) and 234 men (6.1%) met criteria for claims-based dementia. After accounting for age, race, geographic region, and comorbidities, mean incremental costs of cognitive impairment versus no cognitive impairment in women (men) were $6,883 ($7,276) for total healthcare costs, $4,160 ($4,047) for inpatient costs, $1,206 ($1,587) for SNF costs, and $689 ($668) for HHC costs. Mean adjusted incremental total and inpatient costs associated with claims-based dementia were smaller in magnitude and not statistically significant. Mean adjusted incremental costs of claims-based dementia versus no claims-based dementia in women (men) were $759 ($1,251) for SNF costs and $582 ($535) for HHC costs. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive impairment is independently associated with substantial incremental total and sector-specific healthcare expenditures not fully captured by claims-based dementia or comorbidity burden.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.