India’s neurological disease burden rising

Source: The Hindu

What is the News?

India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative has published in Lancet the first-ever comprehensive estimates of disease burden due to neurological disorders in India from 1990 to 2019.

Note: India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative is a collaborative effort between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and others.

What are Neurological disorders?

• Neurological disorders are medically defined as disorders that affect the brain as well as the nerves found throughout the human body and the spinal cord.
• Categories: The three categories of neurological disorders include:
  • Non-communicable neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, central nervous system cancer, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
  • Communicable neurological disorders like encephalitis etc.
  • Injury-related neurological disorders like traumatic brain injuries etc.

Key Findings of the Study:

• Around 82.8% of the total neurological disorders burden in India is due to non-communicable disorders, 11.2% due to communicable ones, and 6% due to injury-related ones
• The contribution of non-communicable and injury-related neurological disorders to the total disease burden in India has more than doubled between 1990 and 2019.
• Reason: mainly due to the aging of the population.
• Risk Factors: High blood pressure, air pollution, and high body-mass index were the known risk factors for the burden of the neurological disorder.
• State wise: This burden is higher in less developed States. On the other hand, the burden of the disorders related to the injury is higher in more developed States.
• Suggestions: The study has called for increased awareness, early identification, cost-effective treatment, and rehabilitation among other efforts to reduce the burden of neurological disorders in each state.