Case Study · Health & population wellbeing
Dementia in Canada: Economic Burden, 2020–2050
How delaying dementia onset changes the long-run burden on people, caregivers, health systems and the Canadian economy.
Headline finding
70% lower burden
Alzheimer Society of Canada · 2023
What the Work Shows
CANCEA evaluated the economic burden of dementia in Canada from 2020 to 2050 using a baseline scenario and alternatives that delayed disease onset by 1, 5 and 10 years. The analysis connected prevalence and incidence with healthcare costs, tax revenues, informal caregiving and the economic consequences borne by caregivers.
The study estimated an annual dementia burden of about $40.1 billion in 2020, with the potential to rise by roughly 275% over the following 30 years. A 10-year delay in onset reduced the modelled overall economic burden by about 70%.
Why It Matters
The case shows why the timing of disease onset matters as much as prevalence: even modest shifts in when people experience dementia can materially change health-system, caregiver and economic outcomes.
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