TY - JOUR
T1 - What would a population-level approach to dementia risk reduction look like, and how would it work?
AU - Walsh, Sebastian
AU - Govia, Ishtar
AU - Peters, Ruth
AU - Richard, Edo
AU - Stephan, Blossom C. M.
AU - Wilson, Nikki-Anne
AU - Wallace, Lindsay
AU - Anstey, Kaarin J.
AU - Brayne, Carol
N1 - Funding Information: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not‐for‐profit sectors. SW is funded by an NIHR Doctoral Fellowship. The funders played no role in the writing of this article. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - Dementia is a leading global public health challenge. Prevention approaches have traditionally focused on individual-level strategies. However, such approaches have limited potential, particularly for resource-constrained populations in which exposure to risk factors is greatest, and exposure to protective factors is lowest. A population-level approach to dementia risk reduction is therefore essential to meet the scale of the challenge and to tackle global inequalities in risk and incidence of disease. Such approaches can be highly cost effective. In this viewpoint article, we describe what such an approach should look like, barriers and facilitators to success, and how we should go about achieving it. We include 10 strategic goals to achieve population-level dementia risk reduction and protection enhancement, targeted at researchers, professionals, funders, science communicators, governments, businesses, and policy makers. If we are to significantly reduce the prevalence of dementia there must be increased emphasis on population-level approaches. Highlights: Dementia risk reduction is a global public health priority Population-level approaches change societal conditions to make them less conducive to dementia's modifiable risk factors, and increase exposure to protective factors. Urgent development of population-level approaches is required to reduce the prevalence of, and inequalities in, dementia Action is required from researchers, governments and business, funders, public health professionals, and science communicators.
AB - Dementia is a leading global public health challenge. Prevention approaches have traditionally focused on individual-level strategies. However, such approaches have limited potential, particularly for resource-constrained populations in which exposure to risk factors is greatest, and exposure to protective factors is lowest. A population-level approach to dementia risk reduction is therefore essential to meet the scale of the challenge and to tackle global inequalities in risk and incidence of disease. Such approaches can be highly cost effective. In this viewpoint article, we describe what such an approach should look like, barriers and facilitators to success, and how we should go about achieving it. We include 10 strategic goals to achieve population-level dementia risk reduction and protection enhancement, targeted at researchers, professionals, funders, science communicators, governments, businesses, and policy makers. If we are to significantly reduce the prevalence of dementia there must be increased emphasis on population-level approaches. Highlights: Dementia risk reduction is a global public health priority Population-level approaches change societal conditions to make them less conducive to dementia's modifiable risk factors, and increase exposure to protective factors. Urgent development of population-level approaches is required to reduce the prevalence of, and inequalities in, dementia Action is required from researchers, governments and business, funders, public health professionals, and science communicators.
KW - dementia
KW - public health
KW - risk reduction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148368261&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12985
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12985
M3 - Article
C2 - 36791256
SN - 1552-5260
VL - 19
SP - 3203
EP - 3209
JO - Alzheimer s & dementia
JF - Alzheimer s & dementia
IS - 7
ER -