Dementia Attributable Healthcare Utilizations in the Caribbean versus United States

Jing Li, Jordan Weiss, Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Daisy Acosta, Amal Harrati, Ivonne Z. Jiménez Velázquez, Mao Mei Liu, Jorge J.Llibre Guerra, Juan De Jesús Llibre Rodriguez, William H. Dow

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Despite the high burden of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias among the Hispanic population worldwide, little is known about how dementia affects healthcare utilizations among this population outside of the US, in particular among those in the Caribbean region. Objective: This study examines healthcare utilization associated with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias among older adults in the Caribbean as compared to the US. Methods: We conducted harmonized analyses of two population-based surveys, the 10/66 Dementia Group Research data collected in Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, and the US-based Health and Retirement Study. We examined changes in hospital nights and physician visits in response to incident and ongoing dementias. Results: Incident dementia significantly increased the risk of hospitalization and number of hospital nights in both populations. Ongoing dementia increased the risk of hospitalization and hospital nights in the US, with imprecise estimates for the Caribbean. The number of physician visits was elevated in the US but not in the Caribbean. Conclusions: The concentration of increased healthcare utilization on hospital care and among patients with incident dementia suggests an opportunity for improved outpatient management of new and existing dementia patients in the Caribbean.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)801-811
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Alzheimer's Disease
Volume96
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 7 2023

Keywords

  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Caribbean
  • dementia
  • healthcare utilization
  • Hispanics

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