The effect of cognitive impairment on mental healthcare costs for individuals with severe psychiatric illness.

OBJECTIVE

This study was conducted to determine the effect of cognitive impairment (CI) on mental healthcare costs for older low-income adults with severe psychiatric illness.

METHODS

Data were collected from 62 ethnically diverse low-income older adults with severe psychiatric illness who were participating in day programming at a large community mental health center. CI was diagnosed by a neuropsychologist utilizing the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale-Second Edition and structured ratings of functional impairment (Clinical Dementia Rating Scale). Mental healthcare costs for 6, 12, and 24-month intervals before cognitive assessments were obtained for each participant. Substance abuse history was evaluated utilizing a structured questionnaire, depression symptom severity was assessed utilizing the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and psychiatric diagnoses were obtained through medical chart abstraction.

RESULTS

CI was exhibited by 61% of participants and was associated with significantly increased mental healthcare costs during 6, 12, and 24-month intervals. Results of a regression analysis indicated that ethnicity and CI were both significant predictors of log transformed mental healthcare costs over 24 months with CI accounting for 13% of the variance in cost data.

CONCLUSIONS

CI is a significant factor associated with increased mental healthcare costs in patients with severe psychiatric illness. Identifying targeted interventions to accommodate CI may lead to improving treatment outcomes and reducing the burden of mental healthcare costs for individuals with severe psychiatric illness.