A review of neurological health disparities in Peru

Abstract

Peru is a historically unique and culturally diverse Latin American country. As a low-to-middle-income country (LMIC), Peru faces health implications from the spread of communicable diseases as well as a growing rate of noncommunicable diseases, both of which have been worsened by the recent COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the national health system. Over the past two decades, the country has aimed to improve health access for its population through various efforts described in this review. Despite this, there are notable neurological health disparities that exist today. This narrative review investigates such disparities through the leading neurological contributors to the national burden of disease in the country, including migraine headaches, cerebrovascular disease, and dementia. Public health disparities that contribute to other major neurological diseases in the country, including epilepsy, neurocysticercosis, Chagas disease, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injuries are also investigated. We also explore potential solutions for overcoming the various neurological health disparities covered in this review that may be applied through public policies, as well as in similar LMICs in Latin America. By overcoming such disparities, the country may be able to successfully address the major contributors of neurological disease burden and create a healthcare environment that can sustainably and equitably improve health outcomes for Peruvian people.

High orientation and low delayed recall in the standardisation of the Spanish version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in elders of Peru

“…The prevalence of dementia among individuals aged 60 years and older is approximately 8.5% in Latin America 8 with projections indicating an increase from 7.8 million in 2013 to 27 million by 2050 9,10 . The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study shows that neurodegenerative diseases in Peru, measured in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY), rose from the fifth to the third largest contributor to neurological diseases 11 . A recent study in Peru 12,13 found a 6.85% prevalence of dementia in 1,532 individuals over 65 in Lima, with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as the predominant diagnosis.…”