The global burden of neurological disorders: translating evidence into policy

Abstract

Neurological disorders are the leading cause of disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide. In the past 30 years, the absolute numbers of deaths and people with disabilities owing to neurological diseases have risen substantially, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries, and further increases are expected globally as a result of population growth and ageing. This rise in absolute numbers of people affected suggests that advances in prevention and management of major neurological disorders are not sufficiently effective to counter global demographic changes. Urgent measures to reduce this burden are therefore needed. Because resources for health care and research are already overstretched, priorities need to be set to guide policy makers, governments, and funding organisations to develop and implement action plans for prevention, health care, and research to tackle the growing challenge of neurological disorders.

Figure 1:. Proportional contribution of various neurological disorders to the overall burden of neurological disorders

Proportions (%) of disability-adjusted life-years (A) and deaths (B). Based on data from Feigin and colleagues.

Figure 2:. Global DALYs by age for various neurological disorders in 2016

Proportions for men (A) and women (B). Early neonatal is 0–7 days; late neonatal is 7–28 days; post-neonatal is 28 days to 1 year. Reproduced from Feigin and colleagues, by permission of Elsevier. DALY=disability-adjusted life-year.