- Russia tries playwright and director on terror charges
- Iran mourns president Raisi's death in helicopter crash
- Attack on tourists rocks fledgling Afghanistan tourism sector
- Paralympics should put disability back on global agenda, says IPC chief
- South Africa's top court strikes Zuma from ballot
- Crunch time looms for BHP's bid buy Anglo American
- Kane to face old club Spurs for first time in Seoul
- Markets rise as traders cheered by China property plan
- Black farmers in Brazil changing views on coffee production
- Iran's President Raisi declared dead in helicopter crash
- Australia police arrest 554 in domestic violence crackdown
- South Korea, Britain host AI summit with safety top of agenda
- New president Lai vows to defend Taiwan's democracy
- Forever fad: Rubik says his cube 'reminds us why we have hands'
- Trump eyes witness stand as trial draws to a close
- Ryanair annual profit jumps on higher demand, fares
- High-priced Cummins, Starc face off as IPL enters playoffs
- Iran media says President Raisi died in helicopter crash
- Dominican Republic President Abinader re-elected to 2nd term
- New Taiwan president Lai hails 'glorious' democracy
- New Caledonia separatists defy French efforts to unblock roads
- Timberwolves knock out defending champion Nuggets, Pacers oust Knicks
- Trump biopic hits Cannes Film Festival
- Iran President Raisi's helicopter found, 'no sign of life'
- Three talking points ahead of 2024 French Open
- 'Haikyu!!': Comic heroes fuel Japan Olympic volleyball manga mania
- Timberwolves rally to knock defending champion Nuggets out of NBA playoffs
- London court set to rule on Julian Assange extradition
- Business and Bollywood votes in India election
- Pope calls anti-migrant attitudes at US border 'madness'
- Mexico aims to be big economic winner from US-China tensions
- Uncertain future for thousands after deadly Brazil floods
- Schauffele makes the putt of his life for first major win
- Wirtz returns to help unbeaten Leverkusen chase history
- Search for Iran's President Raisi after helicopter goes missing
- DeChambeau's powerful putting has him excited for US Open
- Taiwan to swear in new president as China pressure grows
- Atalanta can end 61-year wait for trophy in Europa League final
- Schauffele birdies final hole to capture PGA for first major win
- Guardiola casts doubt over long-term Man City future
- Hollywood icons Costner and Demi Moore make Cannes comeback
- Pacers shoot down Knicks to reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
- Schauffele birdies final hole, captures first major at PGA Championship
- McLaughlin powers to Indy 500 pole in all-Penske front row
- Monaco footballer tapes over LGBTQ badge
- Korda wins sixth LPGA title of year with win at Liberty National
- Pacers put on shooting show to down Knicks, reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
- US envoy touts 'potential' of Israel-Saudi deal in Netanyahu talks
- Dominicans vote for president in poll overshadowed by Haiti crisis
- Brest secure Champions League qualification, PSG win without Mbappe
Surging nervous system disorders now top cause of illness: study
Conditions affecting the nervous system -- such as strokes, migraines and dementia -- have surged past heart disease to become the leading cause of ill health worldwide, a major new analysis said on Friday.
More than 3.4 billion people -- 43 percent of the global population -- experienced a neurological condition in 2021, far more than had previously been thought, the analysis found.
The study was carried out by hundreds of researchers led by the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), which has become a global reference for health statistics.
Lead study author Jaimie Steinmetz of the IHME said the results showed that nervous system conditions are now "the world's leading cause of overall disease burden".
Cases of these conditions have soared by 59 percent in the last three decades, she said, with the increase mainly driven by the fact that the world's population was ageing and growing fast.
The researchers looked at how 37 different neurological conditions affected ill health, disability and premature death across 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021.
This data was used to estimate how many years of healthy life were lost to each condition, called disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
More than 443 million years of healthy life were lost to nervous system disorders globally in 2021, an 18-percent increase from 1990, the study found.
However, if the population's age and growing size was adjusted for, DALYs and deaths from these conditions actually fell by around a third, the researchers said.
Stroke, which was previously counted as a heart disease, was by far the worst neurological condition analysed, accounting for 160 million years of healthy life lost.
It was followed by a form of brain damage called neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, dementia including Alzheimer's disease, nerve damage from diabetes, meningitis and epilepsy.
Cognitive impairment from Covid-19 ranked 20th.
The main reason that nervous system conditions surpassed cardiovascular disease in the latest analysis was a recent World Health Organization classification change that moved stroke into the neurological category, Steinmetz told AFP.
The massive number of healthy years lost from these conditions was partly because several can kill children under five, such trauma during birth leading to neonatal encephalopathy, asphyxia or meningitis, she said.
"Because deaths occur at a young age, this creates a large contribution to years of life lost," she added.
Children accounted for nearly a fifth of all healthy years lost, the study found.
- 'Growing very fast' -
More than 11 million people died from the 37 neurological conditions in 2021, according to the study in The Lancet Neurology journal.
However cardiovascular disease remained the leading cause of death, killing 19.8 million people worldwide in 2022, the IHME said last year.
The most common neurological disorders were tension headaches and migraines.
The quickest-growing condition was nerve damage called diabetic neuropathy from soaring cases of diabetes.
Most of these conditions have no cure.
But there are ways to lessen the risk, including reducing rates of high blood pressure, diabetes and alcohol consumption, the researchers said.
They called for much more to be done to prevent, treat and rehabilitate the disorders, which disproportionately affect poorer countries.
"The worldwide neurological burden is growing very fast and will put even more pressure on health systems in the coming decades," warned study co-author Valery Feigin.
O.Krause--BTB