Lifebrain Newsletter August 2021
 

How to promote people`s brain health?

This month, Lifebrain researchers have published a report on "How to promote people`s brain health". People want clear, evidence-based information about exactly which lifestyle changes can improve their brain health. People also say they would need professional support and regular monitoring or follow-up to track the effect of such changes.

Brain health is about your mental well-being and the ability to remember, learn, plan and concentrate. The report is based on answers from 27,590 respondents from 81 countries who took part in the Global Brain Health Survey, which asked the public what they would need in order to help improve or maintain their brain health. The survey is the largest worldwide study to date about public perceptions of brain health. Key author behind the survey, Isabelle Budin Ljøsne at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, says:
“It is important to promote brain health because almost one-third of the total disease burden in Europe relates to brain disorders. We need to have people on board so that they can make the right lifestyle choices".

Key findings

To succeed with lifestyle changes to improve or maintain their brain health, the survey finds that:

• Close to all (95%) think that public health authorities should provide citizens with clear, evidence-based information on brain health. 
• Almost nine out of ten (87%) would need professional support, either from their general practitioner (GP) or a specialist. 
• Four out of five (80%) would also need regular monitoring to review the effect of their lifestyle changes.
• Three out of four (76%) think the public health authorities should introduce relaxation activities and sports into schools and workplaces
• Three out of four (72%) also think that public health authorities should subsidise healthy food and beneficial activities.

Sources of trust

People trust brain health specialists the most, and conventional and social media the least, for information about brain health. Only half have high trust in their GP. One of the Norwegian respondents said;
“There already exists lots of information on beneficial diet or lifestyle changes, but it is not always easy to know what works or how necessary they are. If there was an online database with evidence-based suggestions, advice, apps, etc., I would use it. It could for instance provide targeted information for different conditions”.

Lead author of the report, Nanna Fredheim at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, says:
“The survey demonstrates to medical authorities the necessity of relaying accurate and easily understandable public information on brain health. This is clearly something people want and need.”

About the survey

The Global Brain Health Survey is an international study about citizens’ perceptions of, and motivation for, maintaining their brain health. This report focuses solely on results related to brain health promotion. The online survey was available in 14 languages, including French, Spanish, Dutch, Hungarian, German, Italian, and Scandinavian languages, between June 2019 - August 2020. Respondents are predominantly from Europe (over 93%), and most originated from the UK (37%), the Netherlands (25%) or Norway (13%).
The report can be downloaded from the Lifebrain website.

Next steps

Upcoming scientific publications from the Lifebrain consortium will address risk and protective factors for brain health such as physical activity, body-mass index (BMI), sleep, loneliness and depression. More results from the Global Brain Health Survey will focus on citizens’ motivations for undertaking brain health tests and implementing lifestyles changes for maintaining their brain health.

References

Wang Y, Pan Y, Li H.: What is brain health and why is it important?  Bmj 2020;371:m3683 

Livingston G et al.: Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission. Lancet. 2020 Aug 8;396(10248):413-446.

Friedman BB et al.: Are People Ready for Personalized Brain Health? Perspectives of Research Participants in the Lifebrain Consortium. Gerontologist. 2020 Aug 14;60(6):1050-1059.

Budin-Ljøsne I. et al: The Global Brain Health Survey: Development of a Multi-Language Survey of Public Views on Brain Health. Front Public Health. 2020 Aug 14;8:387.

Walhovd KB et al: Healthy minds from 0-100 years: Optimising the use of European brain imaging cohorts ("Lifebrain"). Eur Psychiatry. 2018 Jan;47:76-87. 

Source of newsletter

This newsletter was written by Rebecca Bruu Carver. She has a Masters and a PhD in science communication, and 10 years work experience as a science communication advisor in the public health sector. 

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