Niti Aayog Unveils National Brain Health Blueprint to Combat Neurological Disorders, ET HealthWorld

New Delhi: Niti Aayog will soon come up with a blueprint on improving quality of brain health and recognising early signs of cognitive disorders and dementia. The move is aimed at preventing the rising cases of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and stroke, among others in the country.

A senior government official, aware of the deliberations, told ET the work has been going on at the Aayog and concerned ministries for a year and is now in final stages.

“A meeting will be held on Tuesday to firm up the road map and we hope to submit the report to the government by end of June,” the official said.

Several rounds of deliberations have been held between the top officials of the Aayog, the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IBHAS), the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and psychologists from the private sector.

The idea is to develop a service model, on the lines of a brain health clinic, to help professionals identify people who have early cognitive decline and work with them to improve the quality of brain health and reduce their risk of dementia in the future.

Besides, the experts will devise strategies to prevent and treat brain diseases by reviewing the gaps in providing treatment and suggest interventions. This is expected to work at all levels-primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare.

As per Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India, currently around 7.4% of Indians aged 60 and above are affected by dementia and this is expected to go up by 93% to 17 million by 2036 from the current 8.8 million.

Experts feel any initiative towards mental or brain health is much needed as it has long been ignored and will make a big difference in controlling the rising instances of neurological disorders.

“Mental health needs a lot of focus, both on the preventive side as well as interventions. Anything we do either in terms of access, affordability, lifestyle changes or though interventions like digital and physical centres for early diagnosis would be of great significance in improving mental health across all age groups in the country,” said Dr Samir Parikh, psychiatrist and director of department of mental health and behavioural sciences at Fortis Healthcare.

As per the WHO, the burden of mental health problems in India is 2,443 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 10,000 population and the economic loss due to mental health conditions, between 2012 and 2030, is estimated at $1.03 trillion.

According to the ministry of health and family welfare, 15% of India’s adult population experiences mental health issues requiring intervention with urban areas having a higher prevalence of 13.5% compared with 6.9% in rural areas.