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There are 3.4 billion individuals living with a neurological condition, making disorders affecting the nervous system the leading cause of illness and disability globally, according to a new study in the Lancet Neurology.
According to the study, the disease burden from neurological conditions affects more than 43% of the world’s population. Since 1990, the overall amount of disability, illness and premature death caused by neurological conditions has increased by 18%.
Although the study examined a variety of illnesses that are causing loss of health, three of the top 10 conditions include stroke, dementia and diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage from diabetes. Here’s what you should know about these health ailments.
Stroke
A stroke occurs when blood flow from an artery is blocked by a clot or when a vessel bursts, leading to a part of the brain that becomes damaged. A leading cause of death and disability in America, stroke causes more than 795,000 deaths every year, according to the CDC.
Patients who have a stroke typically have numbness or weakness on one side of the body, trouble seeing, trouble walking and difficulty speaking and understanding others. Although a stroke can occur at any age, the majority occur with older age. Most risk factors, however are modifiable and include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, smoking and alcohol.
Time is of the essence when treating stroke, underscoring the importance of recognizing its signs and symptoms. For those who get to the hospital or stroke center within three hours of symptom onset and have a blood clot responsible for blocking an artery to the brain, studies show initiation of certain medications result in less disability and brain damage when compared to those who do not receive medication or receive it after three hours of symptom onset.
Dementia
Dementia refers to a group of diseases that can lead to an impaired ability to think, remember and make decisions that interfere with one’s daily activities. Although increased age is a risk factor for dementia, it is not a part of normal aging. As one ages, it is normal to misplace keys or occasionally forget details of specific events that happen in our lives, but it is not normal to forget the names of family members or old memories, as happens with those living with dementia.
Of those 65 years of age and older, nearly 5 million Americans had dementia in 2014, and this number is estimated to be about 14 million by 2060, according to the CDC. Risk factors for dementia, aside from age, include family history, traumatic brain injury, diabetes, smoking, alcohol, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and decreased sleep.
Diabetic Neuropathy
Diabetes is a metabolic condition resulting from high blood sugar, and diabetic neuropathy refers to the nerve damage that occurs when blood sugar levels are not controlled in diabetic patients. In 2021, more than 38 million Americans had diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association, and half of all people with diabetes have nerve damage, according to the CDC.
Nerve damage can be debilitating for those who suffer from it. As an example, diabetic patients with neuropathy often feel numbness or tingling in their feet. Sometimes, because of a lack of sensation in their feet from nerve damage, they may not realize ulcers or sores that develop from various injuries, which then can lead to limb-threatening infections that can sometimes require amputations.
Risk factors for diabetes include age and family history as well as modifiable ones including being overweight, physical inactivity and acquiring diabetes during pregnancy.
Challenges Treating Neurological Conditions
The majority—80%—of neurological deaths and health loss occur in low- and middle-income countries, according to the aforementioned study in the Lancet Neurology. Furthermore, high-income nations have 70 times more neurology professionals than middle- and low-income countries. These global health inequities underscore the importance of training healthcare personnel in low-income countries and providing much needed resources in order to improve health to so many individuals who are in dire need all across the world.
Lessons Learned
A common denominator to many of the neurological conditions that are contributing to illness and disability worldwide are modifiable risk factors that we all have the power to change. These include obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and alcohol, to name a few. Eliminating key risk factors could prevent 84% of disability-adjusted life years in the case of stroke, according to the study in the Lancet Neurology. These illnesses are largely preventable, but it remains up to us collectively to take our health seriously to curb what has become the leading cause of disability in the world.
