Health inequity, that is the discriminatory systematic differences in health and distribution of health resources between different populations, can lead to the underrepresentation of certain groups of the population in the evaluation of new technologies. Distributional cost effectiveness analyses (DCEA) are a type of analysis that aims to estimate the health and costs impact of new interventions between different subgroups of a population, based on equity-relevant variables. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive disease of the brain. It is a slowly evolving disease and is the most common cause of dementia. In its early stages, symptoms typically include mild memory loss and confusion which in late-stage AD progresses into significant memory loss, behavioural changes and functional impairment among other symptoms. This study aims to estimate the overall prevalence of AD and additionally the prevalence of early AD. The prevalence estimates will be stratified by deprivation so that estimates of prevalence in different equity-relevant subgroups of the population can be used in a DCEA in support of new therapies in Alzheimer’s disease.
Health inequity is the term used to describe discriminatory systematic differences in health and distribution of health resources between different populations. As a result of this inequality and underrepresentation of particular populations due to barriers to access and interoperability of data collection, the evidence base from which epidemiological studies are conducted are typically biased. Similarly, when health technology agencies are making decisions regarding public funding of new health technologies, typically the focus is on cost and comparative effectiveness as well as budget impact, with less or no attention paid to the potential inequity of the benefit to the population. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurologic disorder and causes atrophy of the brain. It is caused by an abnormal buildup of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid in the spaces between nerve cells. AD is a slowly evolving disorder and based on the degree of cognitive impairment, it is often divided into three stages: the preclinical stage, characterized by a typically long period normal cognitive ability, the prodromal stage, characterized by mild cognitive impairment, and the dementia stage, with functional impairment. This study aims to estimate the overall prevalence of AD and additionally the prevalence of early AD which is defined as mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia. These estimates will be used to obtain stratified prevalence by age, sex and deprivation for use within a distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA) to estimate the health and costs impact of new interventions between different subgroups of a population, based on equity-relevant variables in Alzheimer’s disease.
Point prevalence of AD
Point prevalence of clinically significant early AD
Sandro Gsteiger - Chief Investigator - F. Hoffmann - La Roche Ltd
Thomas Leahy - Corresponding Applicant - PHMR Associates Limited ( UK )
Aamir Khakwani - Collaborator - PHMR Associates Limited ( UK )
Alex Simpson - Collaborator - Roche
Cormac Sammon - Collaborator - PHMR Associates Limited ( UK )
HES Admitted Patient Care;Patient Level Index of Multiple Deprivation