, Dong Keon Yon2, Min-Seo Kim3, Yoonkyung Chang4, Somin Park1, GBD 2021 Motor Neuron Diseases Collaborators, Jae Il Shin5,*, Tae-Jin Song6,7,*
1Department of Medicine, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
2Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
3Medical and Population Genetics and Cardiovascular Disease Initiative, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
4Department of Neurology, Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
5Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
6Department of Neurology, Seoul Hospital, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
7Graduate Program in System Health Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea
Purpose
Healthcare planning and resource allocation require accurate estimates of the burden of motor neuron diseases (MNDs). This study evaluated the global impact of MNDs from 1990 to 2021 as part of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021.
Methods
GBD 2021 data were used to assess the global burden of MNDs from 1990 to 2021 in terms of prevalence, incidence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and deaths. The relationship between MND burden and the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) was also examined.
Results
Globally, MNDs accounted for 272,732 prevalent cases (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 236,195–313,676), 64,178 incident cases (95% UI, 58,506–70,270), 1,040,566 DALYs (95% UI, 963,064–1,123,956), and 39,082 deaths (95% UI, 35,757–42,433) in 2021. The corresponding age-standardized rates per 100,000 people were 3.31 (95% UI, 2.86–3.80) for prevalence, 0.46 (95% UI, 0.42–0.49) for mortality, and 12.17 (95% UI, 11.24–13.15) for DALYs. From 1990 to 2021, the numbers of prevalent and incident cases increased, but their age-standardized rates decreased by 1.36% and 4.69%, respectively. By contrast, the age-standardized mortality rate increased by 19.84%. MND burden was generally higher in regions with a high SDI, although rates in high-income Asia Pacific were relatively low compared with those in regions with similar SDI values.
Conclusion
From 1990 to 2021, the absolute burden of MNDs increased, age-standardized prevalence and incidence rates declined slightly, and mortality-related burden increased. These trends underscore the need for evidence-based national and global healthcare planning. Geographic variation in MND burden may reflect regional differences in the roles of sociodemographic and genetic factors.
