Public health measures that reduce dementia risk could save up to $5 billion, UK study suggests

Public health measures that tackle risk factors for dementia could deliver as much as £4 billion ($4.9 billion USD) in savings in England by reducing the number of dementia cases and helping people live longer, healthier lives, according to reports. according to a new study led by UCL researchers.

The study, published in The Lancet A healthy long lifeshows that interventions – such as reformulating food products to reduce sugar and salt intake, introducing low emission zones to improve air quality in cities, and minimum unit prices to reduce alcohol consumption – can have wide-ranging benefits that further then only the health outcomes they directly focus on.

Lead author Dr. Naaheed Mukadam (UCL Psychiatry) said: “There is a growing body of research showing that dementia rates can be reduced by targeting risk factors across the lifespan. Smoking, drinking and high blood pressure are among the numerous risk factors that increase the risk of dementia. the likelihood of a person developing dementia later in life, which could be targeted by public health interventions.

“Although most of the initiatives we studied were not designed with the aim of reducing dementia, in many cases their impact on dementia risk is so great that they pay for themselves through the impact on dementia costs alone, which should be done routinely are considered part of the costs. -benefit evaluations.”

The economic modeling study estimated the impact of population-level interventions on subsequent dementia rates and associated costs, including expected gains in Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY; equivalent to an additional year of life in perfect health, expressed as a total for the entire population). ).

The examined interventions, aimed at six risk factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, high blood pressure, head injury and air pollution), could yield a total gain of more than 70,000 QALYs.

A separate 2022 study co-authored by Dr. Mukadam, found that a wide range of interventions targeting such risk factors are cost-effective without even considering the impact on dementia risk, by reducing the costs of other health effects, such as hypertension (high blood pressure). ) or diabetes.

In their latest study, the researchers found that such interventions appear to be much more cost-effective when the costs of dementia are taken into account.

For this article, the researchers reviewed studies on a range of public health interventions to estimate their impact on reducing dementia rates.

They found that reformulating food products to reduce salt and sugar intake and thereby reduce the risk of dementia due to obesity and high blood pressure respectively, could deliver cost savings of £2.4 billion and £1.1 billion respectively, and a QALY gain of 39,433 and 17,985, respectively.

A 10% increase in cigarette prices could save £157 million in dementia costs, while making cycle helmets mandatory for children could save £91 million by reducing the risk of dementia many years later.

A previous study led by Dr Mukadam in 2020 found that individual interventions, such as hearing aids, nicotine gum to quit smoking or medicines to treat high blood pressure, could save England £1.9 billion annually.

The latest study is published in collaboration with the third Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care, led by Professor Gill Livingston (UCL Psychiatry), which reports that almost half of dementia cases can be prevented or delayed by targeting on 14 risk factors. throughout its lifespan.

Professor Livingston, also senior author The Lancet A healthy long life Economic Modeling Paper said: “Finding effective treatments for dementia is now a huge challenge for scientists, doctors and governments, and there are signs of hope, but we also know that we can save many people from developing dementia in the first place by Addressing Risk Factors As our population ages and the social costs of dementia rise, there is a growing need for public health interventions to prevent dementia.”

Dr. Mukadam added: “People can make lifestyle changes to reduce their own risk of developing dementia, but above all we need policy-based approaches that do not place the burden on individuals. Although these interventions cost money, they more than pay for them. themselves over time by reducing subsequent health and social care costs.

“Numerous studies have shown that these interventions can have the most impact in low- and middle-income countries, or in lower income groups, so we expect they can reduce health inequalities and improve the health of everyone.”

Samantha Benham-Hermetz, Executive Director of Alzheimer’s Research UK, added: “Dementia causes a devastating toll on people, their families and wider society. In Britain the economic costs are enormous, with dementia estimated to cost £42 billion per year. years. And the costs of dementia in hospitals across England have doubled in the last decade, with 90% of these costs coming from emergency admissions. With an aging population, these costs will only continue to rise.

‘We now know that up to 45% of dementia cases are preventable, and that there are cost-effective public health measures available – such as blood pressure checks and smoking bans – that can reduce the risk of people developing dementia.

“This would alleviate a huge economic burden on families and the wider society. The new government must seize this win-win opportunity: extending healthy life expectancy while making better use of public resources.”