Neurological Conditions: Leading Cause of Ill-Health Worldwide, Finds Study
Health
Date: Fri 15 Mar 2024 00.30 CET
Neurological conditions ranging from migraine to stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia, are now the leading cause of ill health worldwide, causing 11.1 million deaths in 2021, research has revealed.
The number of people affected by disorders of the nervous system has risen dramatically over the past three decades, with 3.4 billion people, approximately 43% of the global population, affected in 2021, according to a study published in the Lancet.
The analysis in the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors study suggested that the total amount of disability, illness, and premature death caused by 37 neurological conditions increased by just over 18% from about 375 million years of healthy life lost in 1990 to 443 million years in 2021.
Researchers attributed this rise to the growth of the global population, higher life expectancy, and increased exposure to environmental, metabolic, and lifestyle risk factors such as pollution, obesity, and diet.
Neurological Conditions in the UK
In the UK, approximately one in six people has a neurological condition. Brain Research UK reports that 2.6 million people are living with the effects of traumatic brain injury or stroke. Furthermore, over 944,000 people in the UK currently have dementia, with this number expected to exceed one million by 2030.
Globally Burdened by Neurological Conditions
Globally, stroke represents the greatest burden of neurological diseases. Other leading contributors include meningitis, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, brain injury in newborn babies, neurological complications in premature babies, nerve damage caused by diabetes, autism, and cancers of the nervous system. In 2021, tension headaches were the most prevalent neurological disorder with approximately 2 billion cases, followed by migraines with approximately 1.1 billion cases.
The Alarming Rise of Neurological Disorders in Children
The recently conducted study also shed light on neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. It revealed that in 2021, these disorders and neurological conditions in children accounted for 80 million years of healthy life lost worldwide, approximately a fifth of the total.
The Need for Global Action
The study highlights global health inequalities, with 80% of neurological deaths and health loss concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. In the worst-affected regions of western and central sub-Saharan Africa, the death rate and years lost to ill health, disability, or early death were five times higher than the global average.
Preventive measures were identified as crucial to reducing the risk of developing neurological conditions, such as lowering high systolic blood pressure. The study determined that these measures could prevent 84% of illness, disability, and premature death caused by stroke.
Dr. Jaimie Steinmetz, the lead author from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, emphasized the urgency of implementing effective, culturally acceptable, and affordable strategies for the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term care of nervous system conditions.
Dr. Leah Mursaleen, the head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, expressed deep concerns regarding the figures released by the study and emphasized the need for urgent action to tackle dementia worldwide.
Juliet Bouverie, the chief executive at the Stroke Association, expressed deep concern over neurological conditions becoming the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. She emphasized the necessity of creating support systems to reintegrate stroke survivors into the workforce, stating that failure to do so could result in significant financial implications, including rising costs to national healthcare services and productivity losses.
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