New Study Finds Health Care Costs Associated with Vascular Dementia are Higher than Alzheimer's Disease

12 September 2005

NEW YORK CITY , NY – The most comprehensive health economics study of vascular dementia in the U.S. has found that patients with vascular dementia living in the community have substantially higher healthcare utilization and costs than patients with Alzheimer's disease. Vascular dementia is the second most common cause of dementia after neurodegenerative Alzheimer's disease, and is most often the result of strokes.

The findings demonstrate the unique clinical, societal and economic importance of vascular dementia, and indicate that improving ambulatory care for vascular dementia patients could prevent unnecessary hospitalizations.

“This study reinforces the value of early recognition and control of cardiovascular risks associated with vascular dementia,” said Howard Fillit, MD, executive director of the Institute for the Study of Aging. “It is critical that the health community recognize that dementia is a common and clinically important consequence of stroke. By managing risk factors, early recognition and diagnosis, and better care management, much can be done to reduce the incidence of vascular dementia, improve quality of care and reduce the costs associated with it.“

The study included 20,098 community-dwelling Medicare members of HIP Health Plan of New York. Key findings were that annual costs per patient for vascular dementia at $14,387 were substantially higher than persons with stroke and no dementia at $8,254, Alzheimer's disease at $7,839, or non-demented patients without stroke at $5,494. While the study reports that total health care costs for vascular dementia patients were higher primarily due to higher hospital costs, it also reports that their costs for physician visits and prescription drugs were lower than other study groups.

An article on this new study can be found in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Volume 8, Issue 1, published by IOS Press on September 7, 2005. This project was a collaborative effort of the Institute for the Study of Aging, Pfizer, Inc. and HIP Health Plan of New York. For more information regarding this study, contact ISOA Executive Director Howard Fillit, MD at 212-935-2402.

About the Institute for the Study of Aging (ISOA) The Institute for the Study of Aging (ISOA) is a biomedical venture philanthropy whose sole mission is to accelerate the discovery and development of new drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's disease. Since its founding as a private foundation by the Lauder family in1998, ISOA has awarded over $24.3 million for 144 research programs and conferences at leading academic institutions and biotechnology companies worldwide. In 2004, the Lauder family established a public charity, ISOA, Ltd., to enable individuals, foundations and corporations to partner with the Institute in an effort to raise additional funds and award more grants.   

About HIP Health Plan of New York HIP Health Plan of New York provides its members access to quality, affordable health care from conveniently located, leading hospitals and doctors. Including its subsidiaries, Vytra Health Plans and ConnectiCare, there are approximately 1.4 million HIP members who have access to 41,000 providers in over 61,000 locations in New York , Connecticut and Massachusetts .

About the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (http://www.j-alz.com) is an international multidisciplinary journal to facilitate progress in understanding the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, genetics, behavior, treatment and psychology of Alzheimer's disease. The journal publishes research reports, reviews, short communications, book reviews, and letters-to-the-editor. The journal is dedicated to providing an open forum for original research that will expedite our fundamental understanding of Alzheimer's disease.

About IOS Press Commencing its publishing activities in 1987, IOS Press (http://www.iospress.com) is a rapidly expanding scientific, technical, medical and professional publishing house focusing on a broad range of subject areas. Headquartered in Amsterdam , IOS Press publishes approximately 100 new books per annum and 70 international journals, covering topics ranging from computer science and mathematics to medicine and the natural sciences. Electronic access to all journals is now available. IOS Press also maintains offices in the Washington , DC area and Berlin and a co-publishing relationship with Ohmsha, Ltd (Tokyo).

ISOA Contact: Suzanne Grossberg
Director of Development
(212)901-8008/ sgrossberg@aging-institute.org