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Aim:The aim of this paper is to increase awareness of the prevalence and cost of psychiatric and neurological disorders (brain disorders) in the UK.Method:UK data for 18 brain disorders were extracted from a systematic review of European epidemiological data and prevalence rates and the costs of each disorder were summarized (2010 values).Results:There were approximately 45 million cases of brain disorders in the UK, with a cost of €134 billion per annum. The most prevalent were headache, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, mood disorders and somatoform disorders. However, the five most costly disorders (€ million) were: dementia: €22,164; psychotic disorders: €16,717; mood disorders: €19,238; addiction: €11,719; anxiety disorders: €11,687. Apart from psychosis, these five disorders ranked amongst those with the lowest direct medical expenditure per subject (<€3000). The approximate breakdown of costs was: 50% indirect costs, 25% direct non-medical and 25% direct healthcare costs.Discussion:The prevalence and cost of UK brain disorders is likely to increase given the ageing population. Translational neurosciences research has the potential to develop more effective treatments but is underfunded. Addressing the clinical and economic challenges posed by brain disorders requires a coordinated effort at an EU and national level to transform the current scientific, healthcare and educational agenda.

Several minor changes were made to the RUD instrument to improve the accuracy and precision of the data while maintaining comparability with the original version and reflecting current medical practice. The RUD Complete Version 4.0 is now available for use in future AD clinical trials.

This paper aims to analyse the effect of disability on participation in the labour force, using the Irish component of the European Community Household Panel Survey 1995-2000. A range of panel models are considered, but to allow for any unobserved influences or state dependence in labour force participation, our preferred model is a dynamic panel model. We show how the estimates of current disability are changed once we control for the effect of past disability and previous participation. We compare base estimates of disability with those controlling for unobserved heterogeneity and past participation. The results suggest that the base effect of disability is overestimated by between 40-60% for men and by 5-10% for women.

IntroductionThe European population is rapidly ageing. In order to handle substantial future challenges in the healthcare system, we need to shift focus from treatment towards health promotion. The PreventIT project has adapted the Lifestyle-integrated Exercise (LiFE) programme and developed an intervention for healthy young older adults at risk of accelerated functional decline. The intervention targets balance, muscle strength and physical activity, and is delivered either via a smartphone application (enhanced LiFE, eLiFE) or by use of paper manuals (adapted LiFE, aLiFE).Methods and analysisThe PreventIT study is a multicentre, three-armed feasibility randomised controlled trial, comparing eLiFE and aLiFE against a control group that receives international guidelines of physical activity. It is performed in three European cities in Norway, Germany, and The Netherlands. The primary objective is to assess the feasibility and usability of the interventions, and to assess changes in daily life function as measured by the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument scale and a physical behaviour complexity metric. Participants are assessed at baseline, after the 6 months intervention period and at 1 year after randomisation. Men and women between 61 and 70 years of age are randomly drawn from regional registries and respondents screened for risk of functional decline to recruit and randomise 180 participants (60 participants per study arm).Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was received at all three trial sites. Baseline results are intended to be published by late 2018, with final study findings expected in early 2019. Subgroup and further in-depth analyses will subsequently be published.Trial registration numberNCT03065088; Pre-results.

Addressing the extra economic costs of disability is a logical step towards alleviating elements of social exclusion for people with disabilities. This paper estimates the long run economic cost of disability in Ireland in terms of the additional spending needs that arise due to disability. It defines and estimates models of the private costs borne by families with individuals who have a disability in Ireland when compared to the wider population, both in general and by severity of disability. Our modelling framework is based on the standard of living approach to estimating the cost of disability. We extend on previous research by applying panel ordered probit models to Living in Ireland survey data 1995-2001 in order to control for the effects of previous disability and income and correlated unobserved heterogeneity. The approach allows us to quantify, for the first time, the additional long run economic costs of living associated with disability. Our findings suggest that the extra economic cost of disability in Ireland is large and varies by severity of disability, with important implications for measures of poverty.

Social capital is an expanding research theme in economics, but it remains a controversial concept and its use as an analytical tool has been questioned. The criticisms are exacerbated by a mismatch between theoretical coverage of the concept and empirical work. We demonstrate, using a large European survey of older people, that social capital is multi-dimensional, and explore the extent to which these latent dimensions coincide with its theoretical constructs. We use the association between social capital and health to demonstrate the importance of accounting for the multi-dimensionality in empirical work. We show that all the dimensions of social capital are associated with health, but while in general this association is positive, close household ties are inversely related to health and well-being. This potential 'dark side' of social capital has been largely neglected to date but is important if social capital is to be a useful analytical tool. Keywords Social capital • Health • Older people JEL Classification Z13 • I14 • J14 B Jennifer Roberts

This paper focuses on current use of elderly care services in Ireland and France. In light of health care resource allocation problems, it is important to know the level of current use of home care on which future projections may be based. With the availability of SHARE (Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe) data, it is now possible to analyse this process and estimate the relationship between formal and informal care, and our econometric model tests for endogeneity of informal care. Previous research has not included Ireland into the analysis. Given that Ireland has a younger population base, lessons could be learned from countries with older populations, such as France. Results suggest informal care is endogenous and negatively linked with formal care in the pooled (France and Ireland) model. There is a higher unmet need for care in Ireland. These results have important policy implications for Ireland as the demographic makeup will change from 11 per cent to 15 per cent of older people over the next 10 years.