Abstract

1André Marie*, 2Constant Duméril, 3Martin Bouquet, 4 Legrand d'Aussy, 5 Louis Thuillier and 6 François Thuillier

Neurological disorders (NDs) cause functional, structural, biochemical or electrical abnormalities in the nervous system and may result in cognitive impairment, mood alteration, muscle weakness, paralysis, poor coordination, seizures, and pain. The burden of NDs in developing countries is 4-5%, compared to 10-11% documented in developed countries. However, the burden of NDs is rising in developing countries due to factors such as prolonged life expectancy, improved health facilities, easy access to diagnostic facilities, and a trend in urbanization. There is inadequate data about the epidemiology of major NDs in Pakistan and most available information are hospital-based estimations or physicians’ collected data, mostly in Karachi. Data concerning other areas of Pakistan is limited. In the present study, we focused on Faisalabad, Pakistan’s third largest city. Data from more than 3,000 patients were collected between March 2015 and May 2015 from the neurology and psychiatry departments of Allied, DHQ, Aziz Fatima Trust, Faisal, and Al-Noor hospitals. Our data indicated that 19.6% (n=602) of the study population has depression, 16.6% (n=508) epilepsy, and 15.2% (n=466) migraines. The distribution of NDs varied between the 8 towns, ranging from 1.9% in Tandliyanwala town to 30.7% in Layalpur town. Of all ND cases, 27% (n=382) demonstrated an inherited pattern of transmission. The male group accounted for a smaller percentage of NDs (41.5%, n=1300) than the female group (58.5%, n=1829). Age groups I (10-30 years) and II (31-50 years) had a similar distribution of NDs(37.8%, n=1073; 37.5%, n=1065), respectively, while the distribution was significantly lower in age groups III (51-70 years) and IV (70-90 years), with rates of 20.7% (n=587) and 4% (n=115), respectively. This descriptive study reports the epidemiology of NDs in this region and establishes a foundation of data to address the existing gap in literature on NDs in this region.