Financial Toxicity and Multidimensional Economic Strain Among Dementia Caregivers.

Authors

Dinesh Pal Mudaranthakam, Lauren Yoksh, Allison Makovec, Isuru Ratnayake, Sam Pepper, Tina Lewandowski, Eric D Vidoni, Jeffrey M Burns

Published in

Alzheimer's & dementia. Behavior & socioeconomics of aging. Volume 2. Issue 3. Epub Aug 16, 2026.

Abstract

Financial toxicity is an underrecognized but significant burden among caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The interaction between economic hardship, caregiver burden, and social determinants of health (SDOH) remains poorly defined.
We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 79 ADRD caregivers recruited through the University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Participants completed the COST measure, Zarit Burden, Resource Utilization in dementia questionnaire, and an SDOH assessment. The primary outcome was moderate-to-severe financial toxicity (COST ≤26).
Financial toxicity affected 50.6% of caregivers. After adjusting for caregiver age and household income, higher caregiver burden was associated with greater financial toxicity (OR = 1.12), while older age was associated with lower odds of financial toxicity (OR = 0.93), and low household income was associated with greater financial toxicity compared with high income households (OR = 7.63).
Financial toxicity is common among ADRD caregivers and closely linked to burden and socioeconomic disadvantages, underscoring the need for policy and support interventions.

PMID:
42801132
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 27 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.