UC researchers participate in landmark studies that provides new data on incidence of neurological and infectious diseases

Researchers from the University of Coimbra (UC) collaborated in two international studies, published in the prestigious journal ‘The Lancet’, on global health trends, namely the prevalence of neurological disorders and infectious diseases worldwide. The main objective of these studies was to provide new data on the impact of these diseases and on strategies to reduce their occurrence and deaths.

Mónica Rodrigues, a researcher at the UC Centre of Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT), and João Diogo Basso, a PhD student at the UC Faculty of Pharmacy, collaborated on the study ‘Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021’, published in The Lancet Neurology and available here .

This study identified neurological disorders as one of the most prevalent pathologies worldwide in 2021, with an estimated 3.4 billion people worldwide having been affected by a neurological condition.

"This is the most comprehensive study on the subject to date," stresses the UC researcher. "It concludes that the impact of neurological disorders is much greater than previously thought, with around 43% of the world's population affected in 2021, suffering from conditions such as stroke, migraine, Alzheimer's, meningitis, epilepsy, or cancer”.

The incidence of these pathologies has increased significantly due to factors such as "the increase in the ageing population, but also lifestyle and environmental risks," says Mónica Rodrigues.

Rodrigues also collaborated in the other paper – Global, regional, and national age-specific progress towards the 2020 milestones of the WHO End TB Strategy: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, published in the journal The Lancet Infections Diseases, available here.

This research analysed global tuberculosis mortality and incidence estimates, using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021 (GBD 2021), as well as metrics from the WHO End TB Strategy 2020 - a comprehensive global programme developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat tuberculosis (TB).

"The study shows that the milestones set out in the WHO strategy have not been met at the global level. Despite efforts, there was only a 6% reduction in incidence by 2021 (when the target was 20%) and a 12% decrease in deaths (when the target was 35%)," explains the UC researcher. "Although the global trend did not achieve the targets set, 15 countries did achieve the incidence target, and 17 met the target for the percentage decrease in deaths," Rodrigues adds.

Countries where TB combat efforts have proven more successful have adopted proactive measures such as active case finding, improved diagnostic equipment through partnerships with the private sector, and providing economic incentives for patients.