Aim: The aim of this paper is to increase awareness of the prevalence and cost of psychiatric and neurological disorders (brain disorders) in the UK. Method: UK data for 18 brain disorders were extracted from a systematic review of European epidemiological data and prevalence rates and the costs of each disorder were summarized (2010 values). Results: There were approximately 45 million cases of brain disorders in the UK, with a cost of €134 billion per annum. The most prevalent were headache, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, mood disorders and somatoform disorders. However, the five most costly disorders (€ million) were: dementia: €22,164; psychotic disorders: €16,717; mood disorders: €19,238; addiction: €11,719; anxiety disorders: €11,687. Apart from psychosis, these five disorders ranked amongst those with the lowest direct medical expenditure per subject (<€3000). The approximate breakdown of costs was: 50% indirect costs, 25% direct non-medical and 25% direct healthcare costs. Discussion: The prevalence and cost of UK brain disorders is likely to increase given the ageing population. Translational neurosciences research has the potential to develop more effective treatments but is underfunded. Addressing the clinical and economic challenges posed by brain disorders requires a coordinated effort at an EU and national level to transform the current scientific, healthcare and educational agenda.

Social capital is an expanding research theme in economics, but it remains a controversial concept and its use as an analytical tool has been questioned. The criticisms are exacerbated by a mismatch between theoretical coverage of the concept and empirical work. We demonstrate, using a large European survey of older people, that social capital is multi-dimensional, and explore the extent to which these latent dimensions coincide with its theoretical constructs. We use the association between social capital and health to demonstrate the importance of accounting for the multi-dimensionality in empirical work. We show that all the dimensions of social capital are associated with health, but while in general this association is positive, close household ties are inversely related to health and well-being. This potential ‘dark side’ of social capital has been largely neglected to date but is important if social capital is to be a useful analytical tool.

Addressing the extra economic costs of disability is a logical step towards alleviating elements of social exclusion for people with disabilities. This study estimates the long-run economic cost of disability in Ireland in terms of the additional spending needs that arise due to disability. It defines and estimates models of the private costs borne by families with individuals who have a disability in Ireland when compared with the wider population, both in general and by severity of disability. Our modelling framework is based on the standard of living approach to estimating the cost of disability. We extend on previous research by applying panel ordered probit models to living in Ireland survey data 1995–2001 in order to control for the effects of previous disability and income and correlated unobserved heterogeneity. The approach allows us to quantify, for the first time, the additional long-run economic costs of living associated with disability. Our findings suggest that the extra economic cost of disability in Ireland is large and varies by severity of disability, with important implications for measures of poverty. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.