Abstract
Background: Dementia is one of the public health priorities in China. This study aimed to examine the hospitalization costs of patients with dementia and analyzed the factors associated with their inpatient costs. Methods: This was a prevalence-based, observational study using claims data derived from two urban insurance schemes during the period from 2008 through 2013 in Guangzhou. The extended estimating equations model was performed to identify the main drivers of total inpatient costs. Results: We identified 5747 dementia patients with an average age of 77.4. The average length of stay (LOS) was 24.2 days. The average hospitalization costs per inpatient was Chinese Yuan (CNY) 9169.0 (CNY 9169.0 = US$1479.8 in 2013). The mean inpatient costs for dementia patients with the Urban Employee-based Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) scheme (CNY 9425.0 = US$1521.1) were higher than those for patients with the Urban Resident-based Basic Medical Insurance scheme (CNY 7420.5 = US$1197.6) (p < 0.001). Having UEBMI coverage, dementia subtypes, having hypertension, being admitted in larger hospitals, and longer LOS were significantly associated with hospitalization costs of dementia. Conclusions: The costs of hospitalization for dementia were high and differed by types of insurance schemes. Dementia was associated with substantial hospitalization costs, mainly driven by insurance type and long LOS. These findings provided economic evidence for evaluating the burden of dementia in China.
Highlights
Due to the rapidly growing aging population, dementia is becoming a major public health issue worldwide [1,2]
Dementia was associated with substantial hospitalization costs, mainly driven by insurance type and long length of stay (LOS)
Adding to the current literature, the present study aimed to examine the hospitalization costs of patients with dementia using the urban health insurance claims data and analyzed the factors associated with their inpatient costs in Guangzhou City, Southern China
Summary
Due to the rapidly growing aging population, dementia is becoming a major public health issue worldwide [1,2]. A clinical diagnosis of dementia is based on a progressive cognitive decline and a clear departure from previous mental functioning [3]. A variety of pathopsychological progresses can lead to the clinical syndrome of dementia [3], for example, among them, the most common cause is Alzheimer’s disease (AD), followed by vascular dementia (VaD) [4]. VaD is caused by insufficient blood supply to the brain following a series of minor strokes, which results in brain structural change and progressive cognitive decline [3,5]. This study aimed to examine the hospitalization costs of patients with dementia and analyzed the factors associated with their inpatient costs. Results: We identified 5747 dementia patients with an average age of 77.4. The average hospitalization costs per inpatient was Chinese Yuan (CNY)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
