In this issue of Neurology®, Wang, et al.1 present an analysis of the global burden of neurologic disease in Asia, how it has changed between 1990 and 2019, and its differences by country and subregion. To do this, they performed a secondary analysis of data collected for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, which is coordinated by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation and for which data are freely and publicly available online.2 The authors found that the absolute numbers of deaths and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) increased in Asia during the period studied, although age-standardized rates of each decreased, suggesting that the increase was primarily from population growth and demographic shifts within the population rather than a true increase in neurologic disease burden. Still, neurologic disorders were the leading cause of disability and the second most common cause of death in Asia, reflecting previously reported global patterns.3 Moreover, the study found a marked reduction in the burden of communicable neurologic diseases during the study period. This was associated with a concomitant increase in the burden of noncommunicable neurologic disorders, which now account for the bulk of neurologic disease on the continent, with the most burdensome disorders being stroke, migraine, Alzheimer disease, and other dementias.
