Published: 01 August 2024
A new study funded by NIHR has found that public health measures that tackle dementia risk factors, could provide as much as £4 billion in savings in England.
The research was funded by the NIHR’s Three Schools Dementia Research Programme. The NIHR’s three Schools are:
- NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR)
- NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR)
- NIHR School for Social Care Research (SSCR)
The study was led by researchers at UCL and published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity. It shows that a variety of public health measures could help to reduce dementia rates and allow people to live longer and healthier lives.
Examples of suggested public health measures:
- reducing sugar and salt in food production
- introducing low emission zones to improve air quality in cities
- minimum alcohol unit pricing to reduce drinking
Lead author Dr Naaheed Mukadam (UCL Psychiatry) said: “There is a growing body of research demonstrating that dementia rates could be reduced by targeting risk factors throughout the lifespan. People can make changes to their lifestyles to reduce their own risk of developing dementia, but we particularly need policy-based approaches that do not place the burden on individuals. While these interventions cost money, they more than pay for themselves over time by reducing later health and social care costs.”
In this study, the public health measures targeted six risk factors - smoking, alcohol use, obesity, high blood pressure, head injuries, and air pollution. The researchers reviewed studies into a range of public health measures to estimate the impact they would have on reducing dementia rates.
For example, they found that a 10% increase in cigarette prices could save £157 million in dementia costs. Making bicycle helmets compulsory for children could also save £91 million by reducing dementia risk many years later.
Dr Mukadam added, “While most of the initiatives we studied are not designed with dementia reduction as an aim, in many cases their impact on dementia risk is so great that they pay for themselves by impact on dementia costs alone, which should be routinely considered as part of cost-benefit evaluations.”
Professor Gill Livingston (UCL Psychiatry), also lead author, said: “Finding effective treatments for dementia is now a massive challenge for scientists, clinicians and governments, and there are signs of hope, but we also know that we could save many people from ever developing dementia in the first place by targeting risk factors. As our population ages and the societal costs of dementia rise, there is a growing need for public health measures to prevent dementia.”