Neurological diseases already account for 19% of deaths in Spain

The Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) presented at its LXXVI annual meeting “The impact of neurological diseases on society and health in Spain”, a report that analyzes in detail aspects such as epidemiology, socio-economic impact, morbidity, mortality and disability. on major neurological diseases in Spain, which was carried out in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson.

Earlier this year, the scientific journal The Lancet published a report on socio-medical impact of neurological diseases in the world“, in which they indicated that they were the first cause of disability in the world and the second cause of global mortality. They also determined that the global cost of neurological diseases exceeds the cost of other medical disorders and that, furthermore, given the progressive increase in life expectancy in the world, current projections for all these figures are that they will increase even more. , assures Dr. Jesus Porta-EtessamPresident of the Spanish Society of Neurology. “Because we believed that the Spanish Society of Neurology is obliged to carry out an analysis from a scientific point of view situation in SpainWe have prepared this report, which is also an updated version of a similar document that we prepared in 2006.”

A paper entitled “The Impact of Neurological Diseases on Society and Health in Spain” estimates, based on the most recent prevalence data available, that Between 21 and 23 million people suffer from some form of neurological disorder in Spain. And not only in old age, but also at a younger age, with pathologies of varying severity, but the incidence of which has a very significant impact on the health, economic or working conditions of people suffering from them. The report also states that, At all ages of life, this group of diseases is more common in women than in men.

“Neurological diseases are common and sometimes very disabling diseases, such as migraine, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy or even death such as ALS. And given that many of these diseases – such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases – are associated with aging, due to the population characteristics of our country, an increase in all these pathologies is predicted,” he points out. Dr. Javier CaminaMember of the Spanish Society of Neurology. It is by referring to Spain that this report reflects how The prevalence of neurological diseases is 18% higher than the global average.specifically 1.7% higher than in other neighboring countries, which is due to the characteristics of our demographic pyramid, as well as the high life expectancy of Spaniards.

Neurological diseases also make up a large burden that determines quality of lifenot only the patient, but also his family and society as a whole due to the disability it causes: in 2021 alone, it is estimated that the number of years lived with disability due to neurological diseases will be about one million years, and the years in our More than half a million people died in the country.

Hospital care

Regarding the impact of neurological diseases on inpatient care, data show that the volume of inpatient care has increased. While in 2001 the total number of patients admitted to Spanish hospitals for neurological diseases was 4.2%, in 2018 these figures rose to 5.5%. Moreover, this increase is especially significant in dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. In any case, among all neurological pathologies Stroke is the most common cause of hospitalization and is the third most common cause of hospitalization in our hospitals.

The report also highlights that, in addition to the number of patients, neurological diseases represent a very high volume of hospitalizations: the average length of stay of each patient hospitalized for a neurological pathology is 11.8 days, with dementia being the second specific disease with a longer average stay hospital stay. stay per patient. On the other hand, it is estimated that between 2,196,000 and 3,928,000 Spaniards will consult a neurologist during the year. That is, from 5 to 8% of the Spanish population will require a consultation with a neurologist within a year.

In addition, neurological diseases are responsible for 19% mortality in our countrywith greater weight among women (23.5%) compared to men (14.5%). “The report also analyzed the progress of mortality from the five leading neurological diseases causing mortality over the past 10 years, and in absolute numbers observed an increase in mortality in all of them, with the exception of stroke, where improvements in care and treatment have been established. In recent years (stroke units, fibrinolysis, thrombectomy) have significantly reduced this mortality,” comments Dr. Javier Camina

. “But the remaining pathologies showed an increasing progression, quite striking, for example, in the dementia group.”

Another indicator of the importance of neurological pathology in terms of mortality is the rate associated with deaths due to euthanasia, which has been collected since 2021 and indicates that neurological pathology was the most common cause among people undergoing euthanasia (260 deaths per year). 2022). Of this group, 42% had ALS, 11% had multiple sclerosis, and 8.5% had Parkinson’s disease.

“All these figures show why it is necessary to implement health strategies that help reduce the impact of disease on the population,” concludes Dr. Jesús Porta-Etessam. “Prevention programs are necessary (eg, vascular health or cognitive health) and community education programs. But also strategies for early diagnosis of diseasesby ensuring access to neurological testing and necessary testing, and by promoting neuroscience research to ensure that effective treatments for each pathology exist and are available.”