New dementia screenings to shock patients with their ‘brain age’

FAMILY doctors will tell middle-aged patients their “brain age” under controversial new plans to overhaul dementia screening, according to reports.

GPs testing patients for their risk of developing the debilitating disease will tell patients how their “brain age” compares to their biological age. The move is reportedly a part of drastic new plans to “scare” people into leading a more health lifestyle.  But critics have branded the plans “heavy-handed and intrusive”, saying they will likely terrify millions of people without giving them an accurate forecast of their true risk.

The computer-based test is to be piloted by GPs in the coming months. It will then be rolled out across the country, if the trials prove successful. It will hopefully become part of a system of health checks already on offer to those aged 40 to 74, officials said.  Details of the screening tool being developed with University College London will be presented by PHE’s dementia spokesman, Dr Charles Alessi, to a G7 convention on dementia in Tokyo this week. Health officials are hoping to harness the public’s grave fear of dementia to make people take action to reduce their risk, Dr Alessi said.

“Dementia is going through that phase where people are very scared of it – but you can use the fact they are willing to change their behaviour because they are scared of it to enable to make that change take place,” he told the Telegraph.  The GP said the “personalised tool” would help persuade patients to respond to the stark evidence that suggests lifestyle changes can reduce dementia risk.  “It’s become clear that actions to tackle smoking, drinking, sedentary behaviour and poor diet could really reduce the risk of dementia in later life,” he said.  “The tool compares the rate of brain ageing compared to the actual age of the individual. We would have something that would assist people in managing their own behaviour.” The programme makes calculations on the basis of information relating to the patient’s habits, including their exercise, drinking and smoking habits as well as their weight.  Clinical data on blood pressure and cholesterol levels are also factored in.

One health official, aged 60, said that his own experiments with the prototype showed that a really poor lifestyle could give him a “brain age” of 96. He said giving people an actual estimate of the age of their own brain would give them a “potent health message” to sour them to action.  “The more you personalise a message, the more people listen to it,” he said. “It’s harder to run away from the facts if you are being told this is your actual risk, not the overall risk in the population.” The assessment will enable patients to see how adjustments to their lifestyle – such as stopping smoking or reducing the amount they drink, could lower their “brain age” and dementia risks. “You can see the potential for individuals to take control of their own lives,” he said.

Dr Alessi, a GP in south west London, said officials want to do more to encourage people to reduce their risk factors much earlier in life. But Roger Goss, of Patient Concern, blasted the plan, saying: “This is heavy-handed and intrusive.  “Not only could this frighten people, on the basis of spurious forecasts, but this sort of approach could put people off seeking help from their GP when they need it. “These kinds of ideas are outrageous – people don’t want to be nagged by their doctor into changing their lifestyle, these are the choices we make as individuals, and GPs should be there when we go to them for help, not forcing this stuff down our throats.” In July, landmark research highlighted the impact of lifestyle on dementia, with exercise ranked as the best protection against the condition. Dementia is a broad category for a number of brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s, which can cause sufferers to lose the long-term ability to think and remember clearly.

source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/530916/Dementia-screenings-shock-patients-brain-age

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