£12m committed to preventable disease research

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has revealed that the UK Government has committed an extra £12 million to the organisation in 2020/21 for research into preventable diseases.

The NIHR says that the additional investment will allow it to improve understanding of how to reduce the burden of preventable illness and spread the distribution of health and care research expertise across the country.

Last year a survey found that there was a need to better educate people on the risk factors of type II diabetes, as half of the public are not aware the condition may be preventable, and that just under half are unaware of the steps that can be taken to prevent or delay the development of the condition.

Over 450 million people worldwide are currently living with diabetes and it is believed that one in two are undiagnosed. The majority of these cases are type II, which can be prevented or delayed through a number of lifestyle factors and medication.

The new investment, which will be provided through the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC), will be directed particularly towards Local Authorities, helping them grow and support their research capabilities so they can work further to solve a range of major preventable health challenges.

The NIHR "welcomes the government’s budget announcement of £12m for prevention research over the next year" commented Dr Louise Wood, director of science, research and evidence at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and co-lead of the NIHR.

She continued, "We need to do more to fund broader, multi-disciplinary prevention research which investigates the range of biological, behavioural, social and environmental causes of these diseases if we are going to tackle them effectively."

Heart disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer are all linked to preventable causes and contribute to slowing improvements in life expectancy, and regional and socio-economic inequalities in health outcomes.

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