BUENOS AIRES (dpa-AFX) - Researchers with the Pan American Health Organization, a sub-agency of the World Health Organization, have found in a new study that nearly 470 million people across North and South America have at least one neurological disorder.
The figure represents two in five people living in the Americas and includes conditions such as migraine, stroke, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.
Neurological disorders affect the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves and can impair movement, memory, learning, communication and behavior.
Led by researchers from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the study examined 19 noncommunicable and injury-related neurological conditions across 38 countries and territories between 1990 and 2023. These included stroke, Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, migraine, tension-type headache, autism spectrum disorders, and traumatic brain injuries.
The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, also found that age-adjusted death rates have declined since 1990, meaning more people now survive these conditions and require access to long-term care and support services.
However, not all people living in the Americas can access this care.
Researchers found nearly a fourfold difference between countries with the highest and lowest burden - based on a measure of years of life lost to disease. Countries with the highest burden included Haiti, Guyana and Suriname, while countries with the lowest burden included Colombia, Peru and Argentina.
The disparities in care access reflect differences in exposure to risk factors as well as persistent gaps in access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and long-term care.
In terms of risk factors, PAHO said a significant share of neurological health loss can be prevented by controlling or avoiding high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, tobacco use and harmful environmental exposures.
Although age-standardized mortality and disease burden rates declined between 1990 and 2023, the total number of people affected continued to rise influenced by population growth and aging.
The findings point to an epidemiological transition in the region. While the burden associated with some vascular and congenital conditions has fallen, neurodegenerative and other chronic neurological disorders linked to aging are becoming increasingly important.
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