Innovation Across the Lifecycle of Brain Health
Brain disorders are one of our health systems – and this century’s - most pressing challenges. As in other areas of health, demographics greatly influence brain health and its impact is evident across the entire lifecycle, first through the appearance of mental disorders, which peak in middle age, and later in life through increased risk of neurological conditions and stroke.
An estimated one-third of all healthy life years lost in the EU is attributable to brain disorders. The burden of mental, neurological and addiction diseases is not only direct, but indirect, as brain conditions exacerbate physical and chronic diseases. Looking only at dementia, 46 million people were living with the condition globally in 2015, and that number is expected to climb to 131.5 million by 2050.
Read the full Policy Brief here.
This publication is part of the project “Advancing Brain Health as an Economic and Policy Priority” and financially supported by Merck.
Paweł Świeboda is a Senior Fellow at the European Policy Centre and Centre for Future Generations and Co-Founder of Brain Capital Alliance
Elizabeth Kuiper is Associate Director at the European Policy Centre
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