Patients with Lewy body dementia use more resources than those with Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare resource use and costs in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to assess determinants of costs of care in DLB.

Method: Thirty-four patients with DLB were included in a cross-sectional study. The patients were matched with respect to age, gender and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score to 34 patients with AD. Both groups were examined using Resource Utilisation in Dementia (RUD Lite), MMSE and the Neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI). The DLB patients were additionally examined using the Disability Assessment for Dementia Scale (DAD).

Results: Costs of care in patients suffering from DLB was on average 348,000 SEK (37,500 euro) per year compared to 169,000 SEK (18,200 euro) in the AD group (p < 0.001). Within the DLB group, care costs correlated significantly (r(c) = 2.77, p < 0.001) with dependency in instrumental activities of daily living measured with DAD, whereas MMSE and NPI were not significantly correlated to resource use in the DLB group.

Conclusions: DLB patients use more resources, and are more costly than AD patients. Dependency in instrumental activities of daily living is strongly correlated to resource use in DLB patients.