Alzheimer's disease: the burden of the illness in England.

This paper reports the findings of a study that estimated the socioeconomic costs, both direct and indirect, of Alzheimer's Disease in England by using a 'burden of illness' framework. The burden of illness was calculated for all main areas of provision: hospital and residential care, general practice, day care, home care and informal care, including the calculations of costs by age-group and by service provider. The results show that the cost of this care amounted to around 1,039m pounds in 1990/91, establishing that spending associated with Alzheimer's Disease is a major area of care expenditure. Such burden of illness data should help those involved with health care decision-making, planning and priority setting, especially for health districts and social services establishing base plans for care in the community.