Monetary Costs of Dementia in the United States

This analysis of data from the Health and Retirement Study estimated that the prevalence of dementia among people older than 70 years of age in the United States in 2010 was 14.7% and that the total costs attributable to dementia were between $157 billion and $215 billion. Dementia, a chronic disease of aging characterized by progressive cognitive decline that interferes with independent functioning, 1 affects a large and growing number of older adults in the United States. 2 , 3 Citing the growing effect of dementia on patients, families, and the health care and long-term care systems, President Barack Obama signed the National Alzheimer's Project Act into law in January 2011. One goal of the law is to improve the ability of the federal government to track the monetary costs incurred by individuals and public programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, that result from dementia. 4 Accurately identifying the monetary costs . . .