Abstract
In this observational study, using the Global Burden of Disease and Risk Factors Study, we aimed to 1) report the magnitude of health loss due to noncommunicable neurological disorders in the United States in 2017 by sex, age, years, and States, and 2) to identify noncommunicable neurological disorders attributable environmental, metabolic, and behavioral risk factors. We provide estimates of the burden of noncommunicable neurological disorders by reporting disability-adjusted life-years and their trends from 1990 to 2017 by age and sex in the US. The non-communicable neurological disorders include migraines, tension-type headaches, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, motor neuron diseases, and other neurological disorders. In 2017, the global burdens of noncommunicable neurological disorders were 1444.41 per 100,000, compared to the United States burden of 1574.0. Migraine was the leading age standardized disability-adjusted life-years 704.7 per 100,000, with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias (41.8.7), and epilepsy (123.8) taking the second and third places, respectively. Between 1990 and 2017, the age standardized disability-adjusted life-years rates for aggregate noncommunicable neurological disorders relative to all cause increased by 3.42%. More specifically, this value for motor neuron diseases, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis increase by 20.9, 4%, 2.47.3%, and 1.65, respectively. In 2017, the age-standardized disability-adjusted life-years rates for the aggregate noncommunicable neurological disorders was significantly higher in females than the males (1843.5 vs. 1297.3 per 100,000), respectively. The age standardized disability-adjusted life-years rates for migraine were the largest in both females (968.8) and males was (432.5) compared to other individual noncommunicable neurological disorders. In the same year, the leading noncommunicable neurological disorders age standardized disability-adjusted life-years rates among children ≤ 9 was epilepsy (216.4 per 100,000). Among the adults aged 35-60 years it was migraine (5792.0 per 100,000), and among the aged 65 and above was Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias (78800.1 per 100,000). High body mass index, smoking, high fasting plasma glaucous, and alcohol use were the attributable age standardized disability-adjusted life-years risks for aggregate, and individual noncommunicable neurological disorders. Despite efforts to decrease the burden of noncommunicable neurological disorders in the US, they continue to burden the health of the population. Children are most vulnerable to epilepsy-related health burden, adolescents and young adults to migraine, and elderly to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and epilepsy. In all, the most vulnerable populations to noncommunicable neurological disorders are females, young adults, and the elderly.