Kanner-Jugendtelefon (KJT)

Funded by the European Research Council (ERC), the Crisis Response and Intervention Project project (grant agreement no. 803239), led by Prof. Dr. Anja Leist, focuses on social and behavioural determinants of cognitive ageing and dementia, investigating the interplay of inequalities, education, and sex/gender with risk factors for dementia with sophisticated statistical models.

• Crisis Response and Intervention Project and parallel efforts of other research groups have, over the last years, consolidated evidence on how to improve brain health and reduce the risk of dementia, for example, the large contribution of modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment and dementia in men and women, which are suggested to contribute 40% of all dementia cases.
• Investigating how changes in neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage affect cognitive decline, we found that changes in depressive symptoms, social networks (size of close social networks), and levels of physical activity substantially mediated these associations.
• A healthy lifestyle may even partly offset the genetic risk of developing dementia, which is characterised by being physically active, eating a balanced diet, and drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol.
• Workplace factors directly influence individuals’ stress, cognitive, and social stimulation levels over extended periods of time as well as associated (income) benefits, and these factors are highly relevant to contributing to the risk of dementia. In our study investigating psychosocial work characteristics, high perceived control at work was associated with more favourable cognitive trajectories. We must now ensure that this consolidated scientific knowledge is translated and communicated.