Research identifies significant spike in neurological disorders during the covid-19 pandemic

In 2021, neurological diseases affected 3.40 billion individuals worldwide, corresponding to 43.1 % of the global population. In China, rapid demographic shifts and lifestyle changes have contributed to a continued rise in the burden of stroke, dementia, and Parkinson's disease-a trend expected to persist. However, previous studies have largely focused on individual diseases, leaving gaps in understanding the comparative burden across conditions and populations. A research team led by Professor Yamei Tang from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, analyzed data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021. The study examined the prevalence and burden of 12 neurological disorders in the Chinese mainland from 1990 to 2021, including subgroup analyses by age, sex, region, and modifiable risk factors. The findings were recently published in the Chinese Medical Journal on April 1, 2026.

Research identifies significant spike in neurological disorders during the covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, neurological diseases affected 3.40 billion individuals worldwide, corresponding to 43.1 % of the global population. In China, rapid demographic shifts and lifestyle changes have contributed to a continued rise in the burden of stroke, dementia, and Parkinson's disease-a trend expected to persist. However, previous studies have largely focused on individual diseases, leaving gaps in understanding the comparative burden across conditions and populations. A research team led by Professor Yamei Tang from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, analyzed data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021. The study examined the prevalence and burden of 12 neurological disorders in the Chinese m...