Neurological conditions leading cause of ill health, disability globally: Lancet

 

The analysis suggests that worldwide, the overall amount of disability, illness, and premature death—caused by neurological conditions increased by 18% over the past 31 years

NEW DELHI: The number of people living with, or dying from, neurological conditions such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, and meningitis globally has risen substantially over the past 30 years due to the growth and ageing of the global population as well as increased exposure to environmental, metabolic, and lifestyle risk factors, a new study published in The Lancet Neurology said.In 2021, 3.4 billion people experienced a nervous system condition, according to the analysis from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021.The analysis suggests that worldwide, the overall amount of disability, illness, and premature death—a measurement known as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)—caused by neurological conditions increased by 18% over the past 31 years, rising from around 375 million years of healthy life lost in 1990 to 443 million years in 2021.

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The top 10 contributors to neurological health loss in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy (brain injury), migraine, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage), meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications from preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancers.




Neurological consequences of COVID-19 (cognitive impairment and Guillain-Barré syndrome) ranked 20th, accounting for 2.48 million years of healthy life lost in 2021.

According to the study, the most prevalent neurological disorders in 2021 were tension-type headaches (around 2 billion cases) and migraines (about 1.1 billion cases). Diabetic neuropathy is the fastest growing of all neurological conditions, it said.

“The number of people with diabetic neuropathy has more than tripled globally since 1990, rising to 206 million in 2021,” said co-senior author Dr Liane Ong, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, USA.

“This is in line with the increase in the global prevalence of diabetes”, the study said.

The new study builds on previous GBD analyses to provide the largest and most comprehensive analysis to compare the prevalence and burden (illness and death) of nervous system disorders between countries on a global scale between 1990 and 2021—expanding the number of studied neurological conditions from 15 to 37 that span from birth to later life.




To better reflect that neurological disorders can occur at any stage of life, for the first time, the GBD 2021 Nervous System Disorders Collaborators studied neurodevelopmental disorders and neurological conditions in children and found that they were responsible for almost a fifth (18%) of all DALYs in 2021, accounting for 80 million years of healthy life lost worldwide.

“Every country now has estimates of their neurological burden based on the best available evidence,” said lead author Jaimie Steinmetz from IHME, in a statement.

“As the world’s leading cause of overall disease burden, and with case numbers rising 59% globally since 1990, nervous system conditions must be addressed through effective, culturally acceptable, and affordable prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term care strategies”, it said.

The study, conducted to inform ongoing advocacy and awareness efforts, will support the WHO’s Intersectoral Global Action Plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders 2022–2031 (IGAP) that aims to reduce the impact and burden of neurological disorders and improve the quality of life of people with neurological disorders as well as their caregivers and families.

At least 80% of neurological deaths and health loss occur in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Overall, estimates reveal striking differences in nervous system burden between world regions and national income levels. In high-income Asia Pacific and Australasia – regions with the best neurological health – the rate of DALYs and deaths were under 3,000 and 65 per 100,000 people, respectively in 2021.

In these regions, stroke, migraine, dementia, diabetic neuropathy, and autism spectrum disorders accounted for most health loss.



The study quantified the proportion of nervous system burden that was potentially preventable by eliminating known risk factors for stroke, dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, encephalitis, meningitis, and intellectual disability.

The analysis suggests that modifying 18 risk factors over a person’s lifetime—most importantly high systolic blood pressure (57% of DALYs)—could prevent 84% of global DALYs from stroke.

Additionally, estimates suggest that controlling lead exposure could reduce the burden of intellectual disability by 63%, while reducing high fasting plasma glucose to normal levels could reduce the burden of dementia by around 15%.

“The worldwide neurological burden is growing very fast and will put even more pressure on health systems in the coming decades,” said co-senior author Valery Feigin, director, Auckland University’s National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neuroscience, New Zealand.


#NeurologicalHealth #GlobalHealth #Disability #HealthCrisis #BrainHealth #TheLancet #PublicHealth
#ChronicIllness #NeuroDisorders #Healthcare #DisabilityAwareness #HealthStatistics #Neuroscience #MedicalResearch

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