Dementia not only devastates lives, but creates enormous cost to the economy. The cost of dementia care is spread across three main sectors.
- Healthcare: these costs mainly fall on the NHS and are due to hospitalisation of people living with dementia, which can be due to a variety of causes.
- Social care: relates to the cost of services such as care and nursing homes, homecare, and respite care.
- Informal care: relates to the family and friends providing unpaid care for people living with dementia.
- Productivity loss: relates to the costs associated with premature death or absence from work due to dementia.
Source: Luengo-Fernandez, R. & Landeiro, F. (in preparation). The Economic Burden of Dementia in the UK.
Source: Luengo-Fernandez, R. & Landeiro, F. (in preparation). The Economic Burden of Dementia in the UK.
Source: Luengo-Fernandez, R. & Landeiro, F. (in preparation). The Economic Burden of Dementia in the UK.
Source: Luengo-Fernandez, R. & Landeiro, F. (in preparation). The Economic Burden of Dementia in the UK.
Source: Prince, M et al (2014) Dementia UK: Update Second Edition report produced by King’s College London and the London School of Economics for the Alzheimer’s Society
Source: Prince, M et al (2014) Dementia UK: Update Second Edition report produced by King’s College London and the London School of Economics for the Alzheimer’s Society
UK cost projections
The estimated total cost of dementia in the UK by each sector is shown below. Informal care costs make up the largest portion of the cost, followed by social care and healthcare. This graph shows the total annual cost as the sum of the different sectors.
Source: Luengo-Fernandez, R. & Landeiro, F. (in preparation). The Economic Burden of Dementia in the UK.
Average cost
The average cost of caring for a person with dementia depends on the severity of their condition. The graph below shows the differences between the severity types in terms of the primary care type and total cost.
Source: Prince, M et al (2014) Dementia UK: Update Second Edition report produced by King’s College London and the London School of Economics for the Alzheimer’s Society
This graph shows a breakdown of the estimated costs by residence and dementia severity per person.
Source: Prince, M et al (2014) Dementia UK: Update Second Edition report produced by King’s College London and the London School of Economics for the Alzheimer’s Society