Neurological pathology, the main cause of health problems

Pathologies affecting the nervous system, such as dementia of the Alzheimer type, but also the consequences of migraines or strokes, are now the main global cause of health problems, according to a major study published on Friday 15 March. According to this work, published in Lancet NeurologySo it is no longer a cardiovascular pathology, but of a neurological nature in a broader sense, which still causes the greatest harm to living people.

In 2021, 43% of the world’s population – or 3.4 billion people – will be affected by neurological disorders, according to this study conducted by hundreds of researchers under the auspices of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), a reference institution. For health statistics. This level would be much higher than current estimates and would mean that these distortions have more than halved since 1990. Researchers see this as, among other things, a consequence of the aging of the population, especially since most neurological disorders cannot be cured and thus potentially persist for years until death.

160 million healthy years lost

By far, stroke causes the most disability and health problems. According to the study, they cost the entire population 160 million years of healthy life – an indicator that is supposed to go beyond simple life expectancy to take into account the actual situation of people around the world. After this comes neonatal encephalopathy, a form of pathology that, as its name suggests, affects the child from birth, dementia of the Alzheimer type, then the neurological consequences of diabetes. Meningitis and epilepsy are next in the ranking. As for the neurological after-effects of Covid, which is one of the aspects of significantly longer Covid, it appears in the twentieth position.

In terms of mortality, according to the study, neurological problems killed more than eleven million people in 2021. Here we live below the toll of cardiovascular diseases – 19.8 million – which are often more quickly fatal.