ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurotrauma
A burden of nerve injury from a global perspective, 1990-2021: An analysis of incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability
Provisionally accepted
- Brain Center, Affiliated Zhejiang Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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Objective: To provide a solid foundation for the prevention, treatment, and reduction of the incidence of nerve injury, we explain and update the changes in the epidemiology of nerve injury from 1990 to 2021. Methods: We did our analysis employing the 2021 Global Burden of Disease, Injury and Risk Factor Study to calculate the incidence, prevalence and YLDs of nerve injury between 1990 and 2021 at the global, regional and national levels. The analysis was done according to gender, age group and region in layers. Results: In 2021, globally, there were 4.13 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI) : 3.11 − 5.56) instances of nerve injury, featuring an age-standardized incidence and prevalence of 53 cases per 100,000 people, respectively (95% UI: 40 − 72) and 51 cases per 100,000 people (95% UI: 47-57). The global age-standardized incidence had an Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) of -1.03% (95% UI: -1.38 − 0.68, P<0.01), and the prevalence had an AAPC of -0.99% (95% UI: -1.06 − 0.93, P<0.01), both showing a slightly decreasing trend. In 2021, nerve injury resulted in 440,000 (95% UI: 0.3-0.6) YLDs, with an age-standardized rate of 5.26 cases per 100,000 people (95% UI: 3.63 − 7.2). In 2021, the countries with relatively higher rates are predominantly located in the Caribbean and Oceania. The main causes of nerve injury are falls and exposure to mechanical forces. The global age-standardized incidence in 2021 is higher in men than in women. In most regions, changes in aging, epidemiological situations, and population characteristics are the main factors contributing to the variations in the incidence rate of nerve injury. Conclusion: This study focused on the occurrence of nerve injury from 1990 to 2021, and discovered that the global incidence rate went down a little, different SDI areas and regions had big differences, and the prevalence rate increased in some regions. It provides strong support for further exploring the causes of nerve injury and formulating future policies and protection measures.
Keywords: Nerve injury, global health, burden of disease, Epidemiology, prediction
Received: 20 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shunan, Tang, Lu, Xu, Wang and Wan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ming Wang
Shu Wan
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