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(Stroke. 2002;33:1605.)
© 2002 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Societal Costs of Vascular Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults

Kenneth Rockwood, MD; Murray Brown, PhD; Heather Merry, MSc; Ingrid Sketris, PharmD John Fisk, PhD for the Vascular Cognitive Impairment Investigators of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging

From Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Correspondence to Kenneth Rockwood, Queen Elizabeth II, Health Sciences Centre, Geriatric Medicine Research Unit, Room 1421, 5955 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 2E1. E-mail kenneth.rockwood{at}dal.ca

Background and Purpose— The construct of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) includes many whose care is or will be costly. Nevertheless, estimates of these costs are not well described. We therefore set out to estimate the societal costs of VCI in elderly people.

Methods— In a secondary analysis of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging, a representative cohort study, Canadian dollar costs using a societal perspective were estimated by standard methods.

Results— The total annual per-patient societal costs for VCI by severity were $15 022 for those with mild disease, $14 468 for those with mild to moderate disease, $20 063 for those with moderate disease, and $34 515 for those with severe disease. The most expensive component per individual was the cost of institutional long-term care. Although severe impairment was associated with higher costs, the extent of institutionalization at all levels of severity and less drug use among those more severely impaired mitigated a severity-cost gradient.

Conclusions— The societal costs of VCI are not inconsiderable. In contrast to Alzheimer disease, there is no clear gradient relating cost to severity. Unpaid caregiver costs are an important aspect of societal costs, even in those with only mild impairment.

Key Words: aging • cognitive disorders • costs and cost analysis

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