Prevention and longevity: a key topic in mental healthcare and research

Spokesperson Professor Sylvia Schneider explained the DZPG’s involvement: “Mental illnesses are a major driver of both morbidity and mortality. They reduce life expectancy and often burden those affected for many years. Anyone who takes a holistic approach to prevention must, therefore, include mental health as an integral and equal component — grounded in evidence and across the entire lifespan.”

DZPG spokesperson Professor Peter Falkai added: “The guiding principle must be ‘Mental Health in all Policies.’ To neglect it is to abandon millions of people — and to squander vast potential for healthier lives.”

Germany has ground to make up

The congress made it clear: in many parts of the world, prevention and longevity are already being treated as priorities. “In Silicon Valley, billions are being invested in start-ups focused on prevention and longevity,” reported Professor Dr. Eicke Latz, Scientific Director of the German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin, during the forum “Rethinking Prevention — Personalized Medicine is the Future.”

Through forums and keynote speeches covering topics ranging from social health promotion and personalized medicine to urban health and the use of digital technologies, the congress underscored one central message: prevention must become a firmly anchored and even more significant element within the German healthcare and social systems.

An intense and inspiring day of discussion

Professor Falkai, spokesperson of the DZPG, emphasized: “I am pleased to see that mental health has finally taken its rightful place in the prevention discourse — at the center of the health policy debate. Prevention can only succeed if it addresses both body and mind in equal measure.”

As a partner of the congress, the DZPG advocates for making mental health an obvious and equal pillar of every prevention strategy — so that people in Germany can not only live longer, but also healthier lives.