Aging & Social Change: Tenth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Current dementia research is exploring different biomarkers for the prediction and early detection of dementia. The aim is to develop new treatment approaches, which intervene in molecular mechanisms of the disease at an earlier stage. However, it remains unclear whether one or multiple markers actually will offer a reliable indicator for the onset or progression of dementia. While there is still no effective treatment for dementia, there is a rising public and scientific interest not only in the early diagnosis of dementia in individuals with mild symptoms but also in the prediction of healthy individuals’ morbidity risks. Current developments in dementia prediction – not yet applied in clinical practice in Germany and not recommended worldwide in routine clinical practice (Stites 2018; Milne et al. 2018a; Porteri 2018) – allow for a timely reflection of the ethical and social aspects, the political frameworks, and societal strategies needed to improve public and clinical communication about dementia prediction. This paper offers a conceptual analysis of social and ethical implications of dementia prediction by means of biomarkers and future directions for improving counseling formats. The discourse analysis is based on the first Germany-wide stakeholder conference conducted in 2018 with leading professionals, experts, and organizations in dementia research and care, during which a joint statement was formulated addressing pressing and key issues that have to be addressed in advance to the implementation of biomarker-based dementia prediction in the clinical context. Stakeholder-involvement in health research provides a constructive approach to collective participation in health policy decisions.