Download In-MINDD Press Release – English

EU funds project for dementia prevention
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability beyond what might be expected from normal ageing.
While dementia is incurable, not many people know that you can greatly decrease your risk of
dementia in old age or delay its onset by following a healthy lifestyle in middle age. Cardiovascular health and fitness, weight, sleep and mood are all modifiable risk factors for dementia. InMINDD (Innovative, Midlife Intervention for Dementia Deterrence) is an EU-funded project that
will develop online tools that can be used by doctors to determine the dementia risk of
individual patients in midlife and develop personalised strategies to reduce their risk. A key part
of the project will be supportive, socially driven online environments to help patients follow their
risk reduction programs, as well as promotion of the message that action can be taken to prevent
or delay dementia and the time to act is now.
As Dr. Kate Irving, Coordinator of the In-MINDD project, explains,
”Since dementia generally happens in later life it is likely that the
biggest impact on dementia prevalence will be to delay its onset.
There is a good amount of scientific knowledge about how to
delay dementia but this knowledge is not shared by the general
public. We need to know much more specific information about
risk factors, how they interact and how to decrease dementia risk
- but crucially we also need to communicate this knowledge to
the general public. In-MINDD seeks to address the knowledge
gap and the need to communicate with the public about
dementia risk reduction.”
Dr Kate Irving
In addition to the personal impact of dementia, there are significant healthcare costs associated
with the disease. Europe’s population is ageing and, as old age is the biggest risk factor for
dementia, we face a dementia epidemic in the coming decades. Globally, costs for people with
dementia amount to more than 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) - if dementia care were a
country, it would be the world’s 18th largest economy.1 In Europe, the total cost of dementia was
estimated in 2005 at €130 billion. Preventing and/or delaying the onset of dementia would result
in significant health care savings.
Team: In MINDD is led by Dublin City University and brings together partners from across Europe,
with a unique mix of expertise essential for successfully delivering the project, including:
 dementia experts from Ireland (Dublin City University), the Netherlands (Universiteit
Maastricht) and France (Université de Nice - Sophia Antipolis),
 experts in online, interactive system development from Ireland (Dublin City University),
 primary care innovation experts from Scotland (University of Glasgow), and
 experts in project administration and communications from Ireland (Pintail Limited).
In MINDD is funded by the EU Seventh Framework Programme, under Grant Agreement No.
304979. The project runs for three years from Nov 2012.
More information can be found on the project website: http://www.inmindd.eu/
See other media coverage at: http://www.inmindd.eu/news/
1
Wimo and Prince, 2011 World Alzheimer Report 2010 The Global Economic Impact of Dementia. Alzheimer’s Disease International. September
2010.