Neurological diseases affect more than one in three people and are a leading cause of illness and disability worldwide.

a major new research released by lancet neurology In 2021, more than 3 billion people around the world were living with a neurological disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) contributed to the analysis of the 2021 Global Disease, Injury and Risk Factor Survey (GBD) data.

Neurological diseases are now the leading causes of illness and disability worldwide. The total amount of disability, illness, and premature death caused by neurological diseases (known as disability-adjusted life years, DALYs) has increased by 18% since 1990.

More than 80% of deaths and health losses from neurological diseases occur in low- and middle-income countries, where access to treatment varies widely. High-income countries have up to 70 times more neurospecialists per 100,000 people than low- and middle-income countries. .

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, said: “Neurological diseases cause great suffering to affected individuals and families and deprive communities and economies of human capital.” “This study should serve as an urgent call to action to scale up targeted interventions to ensure that the growing number of people living with neurological conditions receive the high-quality care, treatment and rehabilitation they need. It is more important than ever that brain health is better understood, valued and protected from early childhood to later life.”

The top 10 neurological diseases contributing to health loss in 2021 are stroke, neonatal encephalopathy (brain damage), migraines, dementia, diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage), meningitis, epilepsy, and neurological complications from premature birth. , autism spectrum disorder, nervous system. cancer.

Overall, neurological diseases cause more disability and health loss in men than women, but there are some diseases that disproportionately affect women, such as migraines and dementia.

Since 1990, the absolute number of people living with or dying from neurological conditions has increased, but the age-standardized DALY rate has decreased. This means that the increase in absolute numbers is mainly due to demographic changes and people living longer.

Diabetic neuropathy was the fastest growing neurological disease. The number of people suffering from diabetic neuropathy has more than tripled worldwide since 1990, rising to 206 million in 2021. This increase coincides with the rise in diabetes worldwide. Other symptoms of COVID-19, such as neurological complications (such as cognitive impairment and Guillain-Barre syndrome), were not present before, but now there are more than 23 million cases.

At the same time, as a result of improvements in prevention (including vaccines), care, and research for tetanus, rabies, meningitis, neural tube defects, stroke, and neurocysticercosis, the neurological burden and health losses from other diseases decreased by 1990. It has since decreased by more than 25%. (a parasitic infection that affects the central nervous system), encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), and neonatal encephalopathy (brain damage).

The study also looked at 20 modifiable risk factors for potentially preventable neurological conditions, including stroke, dementia and idiopathic intellectual disability.

By eliminating key risk factors, most importantly elevated systolic blood pressure and ambient and household air pollution, up to 84% of stroke DALYs could be prevented. Similarly, preventing lead exposure could reduce the burden of idiopathic intellectual disability by 63.1%, and lowering high fasting plasma glucose levels could reduce the burden of dementia by 14.6%. Smoking significantly contributed to the risk of stroke, dementia, and multiple sclerosis.