Brain health conditions have become a global health emergency.
Incidences of Parkinson’s disease and dementia have more than doubled over the past 30 years. More than 15 percent of all health loss (for example through illness, disability or death) around the world is now associated with brain health conditions. In 2021, approximately 406 million disability-adjusted life years were caused by brain health conditions, which is higher than other widely acknowledged health threats such as cancer (260 million DALYs) or cardiovascular disease (402 million DALYs).
The case numbers are expected to rise further due to aging and growing populations and other contributing factors such as smoking, obesity and pollution. The number of people living with dementia worldwide is forecast to increase from 60 million now to 150 million in 2050. In Europe, the 2022 total lifetime costs for Alzheimer’s disease were estimated to be at €1.2 trillion, with 80 percent of them driven by informal care and non-medical direct costs, often funded out of pocket.
So far, less research into causes and treatments has been carried out than for other, better-known conditions, such as cancer and those related to the heart. There are also fewer doctors specializing in the field. The World Health Organization and World Bank estimate that around 18 million additional health workers will be needed by 2030 to ensure there is sufficient support across a wide range of health services for dementia alone.
Some of the biggest challenges facing brain health today is defining what brain health means to everyone.
Tasia Asakawa, executive director of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies
But there has been some recent increase in the global attention paid to brain health. A WHO position paper launched on August 9, 2022 presents a framework for understanding and optimizing brain health for all. It noted that one in three people will develop a neurological disorder at some point in their life, making neurological disorders the leading cause of disability and the second leading cause of death globally.
The term brain health is wide-ranging, from mental health, including anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder, to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis as well as stroke, brain and central nervous system cancers, encephalitis and meningitis. By listing out just some of these conditions, the scale of the challenge is clear. “Some of the biggest challenges facing brain health today are defining what brain health means to everyone,” said Tasia Asakawa, executive director of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies.
She and others were speaking on the sidelines of Global Partnerships in Brain Research, an event in Brussels that formed part of the European Brain Council’s Brain Awareness Week 2023. One key theme of the meeting was the need to grasp the extent of the problem. Another was the need to involve a range of actors from various disciplines and stakeholder groups. “To create change at the policy level, neuroscientists, neurologists and pharma, as well as patient organizations, need to combine their efforts and have a single voice towards policymakers,” said Asakawa.
Before brain health can be addressed effectively, the extent of the challenges needs to be understood. An important first step is knowledge gathering. “Without understanding or having any concept of the burden and impact in a given region, you can’t advocate effectively for services and support, for investment into therapies,” said Orla Galvin, executive director of the European Federation of Neurological Associations.
To map the state of global brain health in more detail, Roche is helping the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington to launch the Brain Health Initiative. This multi-year effort — with Roche as a founding member — will develop a holistic view of the current and future burden of brain health conditions. The Brain Health Initiative is generating first-of-its-kind evidence on the health and economic effects of brain health conditions. To coincide with Brain Health Awareness week, IHME showcased Brain Health Atlas at the event in Brussels, which shows users demographic changes forecast for different countries, as well as the burden and impact of brain health conditions. These are measured in terms of prevalence and incidence – and also years of life lost due to premature mortality; years lived with disability; and their sum, disability-adjusted life years.
In 2021, brain health conditions reduced global DALYs by 406 million, roughly the same number as did cardiovascular disease. The loss will increase as populations grow and age, challenging families, employers and health systems to respond. “The type of information the Brain Health Atlas generates at both the local and global level is a critical starting point for policy and advocacy actions,” said Galvin. “It lets people know that they’re not alone.”
The Brain Health Atlas is only the first step on the journey to prioritize brain health. Simona Skerjanec, global head of neuroscience and rare diseases at Roche, said, “Later this year, the launch of the Brain Health Index will provide a way to measure progress on the burden and full economic impact of brain health conditions. No such data currently exists, but together with the Brain Health Atlas, it will help inform research, decision-making and investment for the future prioritization of brain health.”
Harnessing cross-industry expertise is critical to addressing the global challenge of brain health.
William Heise, executive director of IHME Client Services
“The challenges are common,” said Frédéric Destrebecq, executive director of the European Brain Council. “Hence the need to coordinate action and to exchange good practices in order to address that challenge for people living with a brain condition. We realized that we had managed to align stakeholders at the European level, but that it was necessary to engage in a meaningful dialogue with like-minded organizations and stakeholders globally.”
From now, global efforts need data to inform patients, researchers and the medical community of the challenge they are dealing with and to enable them to work together. As part of the Brain Health Initiative, IHME is in the process of establishing the Brain Health Collaborative – a global consortium of public and private organizations from a range of sectors.
“Harnessing cross-industry expertise is critical to addressing the global challenge of brain health, and the Brain Health Collaborative offers a platform for these different perspectives to come together to better root healthcare and health policy decisions in sound science,” said William Heise, executive director of IHME Client Services. “We are already in conversation with leading organizations across technology, philanthropy, health and research, but this is an open call for any other organizations that share the goal of reducing the burden of brain health conditions to reach out and join us.”
