Hospitalization costs of dementia in elderly population in Jilin, China: a quantile regression analysis

China's population aging is accelerating, and the incidence of dementia among older adults is rising increasingly. Beyond exerting profound impacts on patients' quality of life and family well-being, the disease also imposes a heavy economic burden on both households and society. Based on this, this study focuses on elderly inpatients with dementia, aiming to explore the evolving trends and core characteristics of their economic burden, while further identifying and analyzing the key factors influencing this burden.

This study used retrospective analysis to collect the data of patients over 65 years old who were admitted to medical institutions in Jilin Province for the first time due to dementia from January 2019 to December 2023. The composition of hospitalization expenses of patients was calculated and analyzed. Non-parametric tests were used to compare the influence of different age groups on the hospitalization expenses of dementia patients, and the specific distribution of age and medical insurance types was analyzed. Quartile regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of hospitalization expenses in dementia patients.

The total hospitalization costs for the 1200 dementia cases were $1475,945.51, with a median of $1036.79 (IQR: 1702.02). Hospitalization costs are higher for dementia's patients who use the urban employee basic medical insurance. According to the quantile regression results, age, hospital grade, medical insurance type, and LOS were significantly associated with hospitalization costs(p < 0.05).

The use of quantile regression to identify factors associated with hospitalization costs may help address the burden on the elderly population. We should take steps to reduce the number of readmissions for people with dementia. There is a need to enhance the prevention and diagnosis of comorbidities with dementia. The financial burden of dementia's disease is significant and health insurance policies should tend to provide support.