By Hamu Madzedze
A new study released by the Lancet Neurology has revealed a global increase in ill-health and disability due to neurological conditions.
According to the study there has been an upsurge in neurological conditions by 18% since 1990 which means the number of individuals living with or dying from neurological conditions has increased.
"Disability ,illness and premature death known as disability-adjusted life years due to neurological conditions has increased and over 80% of neurological deaths and health loss is taking place in low-and middle-income countries"
World Health Organisation(WHO) Director -General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the results from the study is an urgent call to action to scale up targeted interventions to allow the growing number of people living with neurological conditions to access the quality care,treatment and rehabilitation they need.
Dr Ghebreyesus added that it is more important than ever to ensure brain health is better understood ,valued and protected from early childhood to later life.
"Neurological conditions cause great suffering to individuals ,their families and also rob communities and economies of human capital"he said.
The top ten neurological conditions contributing to loss of health are namely stroke,neonatal brain damage,migraine,dementia,diabetic neurology (nerve damage),meningitis,epilepsy,neurological complications from preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder and nervous cancer system.
One in three people are affected by neurological conditions and these conditions cause more disability and health loss in men compared to women , however there are some conditions like migraine and dementia where women are disproportionately affected.
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