The economic and social cost of dementia in Ireland

The economic and social burden of dementia on society is the value of all the resources used to prevent, diagnose, treat, and generally cope with the illness. This article assess the overall resource implications of dementia in Ireland. Six main areas are covered in the cost analysis as follows: mortality and life years lost, in-patient acute care, in-patient psychiatric care, residential long-stay care, family care, and primary and social care in the community. The critical role of carers in maintaining people with dementia in their own home is reflected in the results showing that family care accounts for almost 50 percent of the overall resource burden, based on an opportunity cost valuation of carer time.