Angelini Pharma and the think tank The European House-Ambrosetti have presented at the Congress of Deputies data on the current state of brain health in Europe, under the initiative Headway: a new road map in brain health, highlighting the burden of diseases. With the aim of devising a strategy focused on the care of well-being and brain health at the European level, the factors that affect the brain in today’s society in general and, in particular, work and educational environments.
Headway develops two large blocks: one focused on mental health and the other focused on neurological diseases, with a focus on epilepsy. With regard to the first block, the data indicates that the mortality rate due to mental and behavioral disorders has reached 45.8 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants and the economic burden associated with this problem has also increased significantly, amounting to a quarter of Spain’s GDP. is 4.17%, which is slightly above 4. % of EU average.
Neurological diseases are responsible for 6% of deaths in Europe and especially epilepsy, a disease that can develop at any age, with a risk of premature death 3 times higher than the rest of the population and a reduction in life expectancy between 2-10 years has been detected.
Regarding the factors behind this increase in cases, the report suggests that socioeconomic uncertainty, geopolitical conflict and environmental crisis have been triggers that have significantly affected the state of brain health in the Spanish population in recent years .
Currently, and according to reports, the social groups most affected by these types of disorders are women, adolescents and children. Following the pandemic, 83% of women admitted that the health crisis negatively affected their mental health, compared to 36% of men.
Also in schools it is an environment where the complexity increases for this type of patient. Reports suggest that people with epilepsy have more difficulties finding work, feel discriminated against and isolated, and have more barriers in schools. Furthermore, in the case of people with mental health problems, data indicates that they account for about 14% of school dropouts in Europe and 15.8% in Spain.
The presentation was attended by medical professionals, who explained the study data and the impact of this type of pathology on the lives of patients, something that was pointed out by representatives of patient associations participating in the act.
Source: nationworldnews.com
