Ariane Bertogg (Associated Fellow / History and Sociology)
Dementia-related conditions are a major public health concern and are associated with high social and economic costs for affected individuals, their immediate social ties and the society they live in. Despite recent medical advancements, a universal and accessible treatment is lacking, making prevention a central way to address these challenges. While ample research has identified modifiable genetic, biological and behavioural risk factors for dementia and accelerated cognitive decline, social factors have been less studied.
Relevant social factors refer to both risk factors and reserves accumulated across life courses (e.g., participation in employment, family roles) and the presence of close social ties in later life. At a macro-level, relevant social factors include social norms and institutional change such as the East-West German reunification, but also socio-environmental risks such as climate change. The presentation outlines a research program that links these individual- and societal-level factors for cognitive ageing processes, and presents selected findings from Bertoggs research program.
