Big data research to defeat dementia

A UNSW research initiative that will harness 'big data' to defeat dementia has received backing from the big end of town, raising hopes for more understanding of the disease. “By pooling data we can create ‘big data sets’ that produce more robust statistical models involving multiple risk factors and more precise estimates than can be reliably obtained from individual cohort studies,” says Sachdev.

Dementia is expected to affect almost one million Australians by 2050 at an economic cost of almost 3% of gross domestic product. According to CHeBA's other co-director, UNSW Professor Henry Brodaty – who was Suellen Grellman's specialist physician – effectively tackling known risk factors for dementia could prevent up to one-fifth of new cases by 2025.
“The World Dementia Council’s recent statement calling on governments to adopt a risk reduction approach in public health policies and campaigns, and to increase investment for population-level research into dementia risk reduction is encouraging,” says Brodaty.
“It aligns completely with our belief that dementia is at least partially preventable through strategies that will push back its onset."
The Dementia Momentum will be officially launched tomorrow.
Read more about the initiative and its backers on the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing’s website.
Read the Australian Financial Review story here.