The prevalence of neurological diseases in Spain is 18% higher than the world average, mainly due to the ageing population: according to the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), more than 23 million people suffer from some form of disease for this reason. .)
On the occasion of World Brain Day, SEN notes in a statement that the prevalence of neurological diseases in Spain is also 1.7% higher due to ageing and that they are also the leading cause of disability due to chronic diseases (44%).
For this reason, it highlights the need to raise awareness of the importance of promoting neurological health and focuses on the prevention of brain diseases, since although progress has been made in treatment, they are chronic and untreatable.
According to data published by SEN and compiled from data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), neurological diseases accounted for 14% of deaths in Spain, mainly due to Alzheimer’s disease (35,000 deaths) and strokes (almost 26,000).
SEN President Jesús Porta-Etessam stresses that neurological diseases “continue to cause significant disability and mortality.”
“Diseases such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, encephalitis and meningitis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) account for a large percentage of deaths worldwide and, along with other neurological diseases such as migraine, they also form part of the global burden of disability,” he notes.
In this sense, Porta-Etessam emphasizes that eliminating risk factors for many of these diseases “can radically change the impact of neurological diseases.”
As an example, he cites that up to 90% of stroke cases, 40% of dementia cases, or almost 30% of epilepsy cases could be avoided by “adopting brain-healthy habits.”
SEN highlights that research confirms that 84% of strokes could potentially be prevented by reducing exposure to 18 risk factors already identified – hypertension (57.3%) being the largest factor – which needs to be controlled. Lead exposure could reduce the burden of intellectual disability by 63% or diabetes control could reduce the burden of Alzheimer’s and other dementias by almost 15%.
Smoking is also associated with an increased risk of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, dementia or stroke, and alcohol abuse creates a risk of epilepsy almost four times higher in men (11%) than in women (3%).
In addition, factors such as sleep, stress or social isolation are “major contributors” to the development of neurological pathologies, as is the type of diet and exercise we do, SEN reminds.