Brain disorder bill hits 800 billion euros as Europe faces 'ticking bomb,' warns EBC study

The annual cost of brain disorders in Europe has soared to 798 billion euros ($1,070 billion) in what a new study commissioned by the European Brain Council (EBC), describes as a social, political and financial “ticking bomb.”

The report, titled Cost of disorders of the brain in Europe 2010, argues that the bill will continue to rise as people live longer, thus representing “the number one economic challenge for European health care now and in the future.” The figure - equating to 1,550 euros per European - is more than double the estimate made in an EBC report published in 2005.

“The increasing burden and the associated increasing cost of disorders of the brain is a ticking bomb under the European economy and the EU society as a whole,” the authors say, before calling for a major increase in research funding and resources to help combat the trend.