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Global coalition’s plan to slash chance of death before 70 in half
A global coalition of experts has drawn up a roadmap for how any country can cut the chance of premature death for its citizens in half by 2050.
Since 1970, 37 countries have cut the probability of their citizens dying before they reach age 70 in half. But the new report argues that this goal isn’t out of reach for any country that chooses to cut its premature mortality, even those afflicted by war or poverty.
This goal, which the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health calls “50 by 50,” is achievable, argues the report, through a series of targeted health investments; and the scaling up financing to develop new health technologies.
The Global Health 2050 report, launched this week at the World Health Summit in Berlin, argues that countries should prioritise the 15 health conditions that cause most premature deaths.
These include infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and respiratory infections, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and other issues such as accidents and suicide. Most of the gains in global life expectancy over the past two decades are attributable to reductions in mortality from these conditions, according to the report.
However, millions of people around the world still lack access to prevention and treatment services that could protect them from these causes of premature death. The authors say countries can make significant gains by publicly subsidising the costs of essential medicines, diagnostics, vaccines and other interventions that address these 15 conditions.
This public subsidy, they argue, should be combined with scaled-up financing of research and innovation to develop new health technologies.
If the “50 by 50” goals are reached by every country, a person born in 2050 would have only a 15 per cent chance of dying before age 70, down from 31 per cent for someone born in 2019. Among the 37 countries that are on track to reach this benchmark are seven of the world’s most populous nations, including Bangladesh, China and Iran.
But such gains are achievable and sustainable across any high-, middle- and low-income country that chooses this path, the report asserts. The authors lay out specific policies and health financing strategies that make it feasible for even the poorest countries to take a cost-effective approach to reducing mortality.
“Health policy changes people’s lives,” says Wenhui Mao, a senior policy analyst at Duke University and one of the 50 authors on the commission report.
“Without good health policies, populations won’t get the health outcome they deserve. Large disparities will continue to occur.”
The report calls for increased taxation on tobacco products, unhealthy foods and drinks, and fossil fuels, which the authors say would both reduce illness and death attributable to those products and raise revenue that can be reinvested in health systems. While all these taxes are win-win, the commission’s clear message is that by far the highest priority is high taxes on tobacco.
The commission points out, for example, that smoking remains one of the biggest causes of preventable mortality in many parts of the world, causing more than 8 million deaths worldwide annually, according to the World Health Organisation.
Global Health 2050 is the third report released by the commission since its creation in 2013. Chaired by former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, the commission was formed twenty years after the World Bank published a report in 1993, called “Investing in Health,” that showed that targeted spending on cost-effective interventions for high-burden diseases could improve health outcomes, boost economies, and improve human welfare.
NeuroClin – formerly known as Glasgow Memory Clinic – has partnered with Advance Tests to launch Scotland’s first commercially available blood biomarker test for early Alzheimer’s detection.
Designed for people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) – subtle problems with memory and thinking – the LucentAD Complete test helps determine whether these symptoms are likely due to Alzheimer’s.
Dementia affects more than 90,000 people in Scotland and nearly one million across the UK each year.
Early diagnosis is becoming increasingly important following the recent UK approval of new disease-modifying drugs lecanemab and donanemab.
“We know that changes in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s begin years before symptoms appear,” said Dr Jennifer Lynch, medical director at NeuroClin.
“This new blood biomarker test helps us detect potential Alzheimer’s earlier, giving people access to lifestyle advice, and access to new disease-modifying treatments or research opportunities.”
The launch marks the first time a clinically validated blood test for Alzheimer’s has been available in Scotland outside a research trial setting, following national NHS trials exploring single-marker biomarker tests.
This new version uses a multi-marker approach and is now commercially available.
Developed by Lucent Diagnostics, the test is already widely used across the US, supported by multiple peer-reviewed studies and now covered by the Medicare system.
At NeuroClin, the new blood biomarker test will form part of a staged diagnostic pathway beginning with memory testing, followed by the blood test, genetic testing and specialist support where appropriate.
Dr Simon Worrell, chief medical officer at Advance Tests, said: “Bringing this diagnostic test to Scotland for the first time is a major milestone – not just for Advance Tests, but for patients and clinicians across the country.
“We are witnessing a rare and important moment in health innovation, where breakthroughs in diagnostics are aligned with breakthroughs in treatment.
“With newly approved drugs now available, and growing evidence that early lifestyle changes can delay progression, early diagnosis has never been more valuable.”
Henry Simmons, chief executive at Alzheimer’s Scotland, added: “While we wish blood biomarker tests were routinely available on the NHS, this is not yet the case.
“We welcome NeuroClin taking the lead in offering this service in Scotland, as earlier diagnosis can help people and families get answers sooner, plan ahead and access the right support and emerging treatments.”
An archaeologist from the University of York is leading a new study into how societies viewed ageing, wisdom and experience over thousands of years.
Dr Lindsey Büster’s research claims to be the first to focus on the lives and experiences of older adults in prehistoric and Roman Europe, examining skeletons and objects from collections including York Museums Trust.
The project, called Age-Old Stories, aims to challenge existing stereotypes and ageism by exploring how earlier societies viewed age, wisdom and experience.
“They have a very large collection of Roman human remains from across Yorkshire and that’s going to be a really important assemblage for us,” said Dr Büster.
The ultimate aim is for the research to provide strong examples of why making older adults more visible in policy-making and public life is so important,” said Dr Büster.
“Ageing is not a marginal experience, it is a central part of human history and we should have better strategies for valuing and celebrating it today.”
Archaeological discoveries already suggest that older adults were central figures in many past societies.
In Scarborough, the remains of Gristhorpe Man – Britain’s best-preserved Early Bronze Age skeleton – were analysed and suggested he was aged between 45 and 60 years, tall and muscular, and nourished by a rich diet.
“He is over 45 and he was buried in this log coffin, which would’ve been hugely time consuming, hugely labour intensive and he’s buried with a dagger,” said Dr Büster.
“These are all the trappings of a high-status individual.”
The project will work in partnership with York Museums Trust to create a new exhibition and public events, and will also collaborate with Age Friendly York.
Weight loss jabs Mounjaro and Wegovy are so effective they should be the first treatment for obesity “in almost all cases”, according to new medical guidance.
The European Association for the Study of Obesity praised the drugs’ effectiveness and wider health benefits in new guidance to doctors.
It described them as slimming aids that can also cut the risk of related conditions such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Three in ten Britons – around 16m adults – are obese, but only 1.5m use the injections, most bought privately at about £200 a month.
Trials have shown adults using semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, lost about 14 per cent of their body weight over 72 weeks.
Those taking tirzepatide – marketed as Mounjaro and sometimes dubbed the “king kong” of weight loss jabs – lost about 20 per cent over the same period.
Dr Andreea Ciudin, co-first author of the guidance from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said the drugs were “completely transforming care of obesity and its complications”.
She added: “Even though there are several options on the market, the reality is that semaglutide and tirzepatide are so effective that they should be the first choice in almost all cases.”
The guidelines were produced by an international team of experts, including contributors from the UK.
They analysed existing studies and created an algorithm to help doctors decide the best treatment based on a patient’s weight and associated conditions.
They concluded that tirzepatide and semaglutide should be considered the “medications of choice” when a substantial level of total body weight loss is required.
When a lesser degree of weight loss is the aim, other medicines such as liraglutide, naltrexone–bupropion and phentermine–topiramate may be appropriate.
The guidance comes after health secretary Wes Streeting pledged this week to make injections available to millions more patients on the NHS.
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, he said it was unfair that wealthier people had been able to benefit from the drugs’ “transformative” effects “on their health, their confidence and their quality of life” while those unable to pay privately had gone without.
He added: “Weight-loss jabs could help us finally defeat obesity.
“Our mission is to ensure that the best science, the best healthcare and the best innovations are available not just to some, but to all.”
Glasgow clinic launches Alzheimer’s detection test
Researchers use prehistoric skeletons to study ageing
Weight loss jabs should be first-line obesity treatment in most cases, new guidance states
Brain shape changes could offer early warning signs of dementia, study suggests
Research uncovers ageing secrets of world’s oldest woman
Genetic condition puts Black and South Asian men at greater diabetes risk
Researchers uncover potential new early warning sign for Alzheimer’s
Bone breakthrough could reverse osteoporosis
Research uncovers ageing secrets of world’s oldest woman
Half of people stop taking weight-loss drug within a year, study finds
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