AI Article Synopsis
- Medicare claims data can be useful for tracking dementia rates, but there's a lack of clarity on how complete the diagnoses are and for which populations.
- A study comparing cognitive assessments with Medicare claims found similar prevalence estimates for dementia, but only about half of cases were identified by both methods, with race and education playing a role in discrepancies.
- The study highlights that while claims data are becoming more valuable for understanding dementia trends, delays in diagnosis might lead to underestimating rates in Black and Hispanic populations.
Article Abstract
Introduction: Medicare claims data may be a rich data source for tracking population dementia rates. Insufficient understanding of completeness of diagnosis, and for whom, limits their use.
Methods: We analyzed agreement in prevalent and incident dementia based on cognitive assessment from the Health and Retirement Study for persons with linked Medicare claims from 2000 to 2008 (N = 10,450 persons). Multinomial logistic regression identified sociodemographic factors associated with disagreement.
Results: Survey-based cognitive tests and claims-based dementia diagnosis yielded equal prevalence estimates, yet only half were identified by both measures. Race and education were associated with disagreement. Eighty-five percent of respondents with incident dementia measured by cognitive decline received a diagnosis or died within the study period, with lower odds among blacks and Hispanics than among whites.
Discussions: Claims data are valuable for tracking dementia in the US population and improve over time. Delayed diagnosis may underestimate rates within black and Hispanic populations.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6556828 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trci.2019.04.003 | DOI Listing |
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