Luxembourg, 17 July 2026 - Dementia imposes an annual societal cost of more than EUR 221 billion across 30 high-income European countries, with families and unpaid informal carers carrying much of the weight, according to a new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. It was led by Prof. Richard Dodel, neurologist and geriatrician at the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany) and co-authors include Jean Georges, Executive Director at Alzheimer Europe.
The research forms part of the Cost of Illness in Neurology in Europe (COIN-Eu) initiative, led by the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), which aims to assess the societal and economic burden of major neurological conditions across Europe.
For this analysis, researchers conducted a systematic review of 45 European dementia cost studies published between 2010 and 2023, combined with prevalence estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study. They found that 58% of total dementia-related costs are linked to unpaid care provided by family members, friends and other informal carers, highlighting the substantial impact of dementia beyond healthcare systems alone. Notably, unpaid informal care (EUR 128 billion annually) exceeded direct healthcare costs (EUR 93 billion), underscoring the often-hidden contribution made by families and carers.
The study estimated that approximately 8.8 million people were living with dementia across high-income European countries in 2019, with dementia-related costs equivalent to around 1.6% of regional GDP, underlining the condition’s growing impact on healthcare systems, economies and families.
The average annual societal cost per person living with dementia was estimated at EUR 25,200, although substantial variation existed across Europe. Together, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK accounted for approximately 68% of the total estimated economic burden, reflecting their population size and dementia care needs.
Researchers also note that the findings reinforce calls for more standardised approaches to measuring dementia-related costs — particularly the contribution of informal care — to improve comparisons across countries and strengthen future healthcare planning and policymaking.
Prof. Richard Dodel, lead author of the study, commented:
“As Europe’s population continues to age, we can expect the number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia to increase substantially in the coming years. One of the most striking findings from this study was the scale of informal care provided by families and friends. While healthcare costs are significant, the majority of the burden falls on unpaid caregivers, whose contribution is often overlooked despite being essential to supporting people living with dementia.”
Jean Georges, Executive Director, Alzheimer Europe commented on the newly-published research:
"With populations continuing to age, the number of people living with dementia is set to rise sharply in the coming years. Our recent report The Prevalence of Dementia in Europe 2025 projects a 64% increase in dementia across Europe by 2050 and the economic burden associated with the condition will of course rise in tandem with these numbers, so it is vital that countries are prepared.
Healthcare costs are significant, but the impact is not merely financial, with findings from this new study clearly demonstrating that the majority of the weight is borne by unpaid carers, mainly family members, whose vital contribution often goes unrecognised.
Decision-makers, both at the European and national levels, must prioritise dementia and ensure it is addressed across the domains of health, research, disability policy and support for informal carers. They must ensure that support is available for people with dementia and carers, and that they increase investment into care infrastructure, support services and timely diagnosis, as well as implementing targeted prevention strategies based on known modifiable risk factors.”
You can read the full study, “The economic burden of dementia in Europe: COIN-Eu dementia”, here:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13872877261465575
Notes:
Prof. Richard Dodel is a neurologist and geriatrician working at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. He holds the chair of geriatric medicine and is the department head of the Geriatric Centre Haus Berge in Essen. He is co-editor of the German Guideline “Dementia”. His scientific interests focus on basic research (mechanisms of neurodegeneration) as well as clinical studies. One major interest is concerned with the evaluation of healthcare utilisation and quality of life in neurologic disorders. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles. Richard Dodel together with Günther Deuschl and Prof. Siebert led this successful EAN project.
The European Academy of Neurology (EAN) is a non-profit, independent organisation representing more than 45,000 members, as well as 48 European national societies. As a medical society it promotes excellence in the practice of general neurology throughout Europe, leading to improved patient care. The EAN also aims to keep Europe at the forefront of neurological research and maintain its position as one of the world’s leading scientific hotspots in neurology. Learn more: ean.org
About the study: The dementia analysis forms part of the Cost of Illness in Neurology in Europe (COIN-Eu) project, a European initiative led by the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) that aims to assess the societal and economic burden of major neurological diseases across Europe.
Researchers conducted a systematic review of published evidence and applied health-economic modelling approaches to estimate country-level costs across three categories:
Direct medical costs
Informal care costs
Indirect costs or including productivity losses
Due to data availability, the analysis focused on 30 high-income European countries where sufficient comparable dementia cost data could be identified, including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
