Pharmaceutical Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Utilization and Disparities.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Four prescription drugs (donepezil, galantamine, memantine, and rivastigmine) are approved by the US FDA to treat symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Even modest effectiveness could potentially reduce the population-level burden of AD and related dementias (ADRD), especially for women and racial/ethnic minorities who have higher incidence of ADRD.

Objective

Describe the prevalence of antidementia drug use and timing of initiation relative to ADRD diagnosis among a nationally representative group of older Americans, and if there are disparities in prevalence and timing by sex and race/ethnicity.

Methods

Descriptive analyses and logistic regressions of Medicare claims (2008-2016) for beneficiaries who had an ADRD or dementia-related symptom diagnosis, or us

SUBMITTER: Barthold D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7825250 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature