Neurological Disease and Conditions 

Of the four new categories of disease, the explosion of neurological diseases and conditions may be the most troubling. Thirteen neurological diseases and conditions have exploded since 1990 and when we include sleep, there are now more than 198 million instances of these diseases and conditions in the US population today.

In the past generation alone, autism has grown at 2094%, Psycho-social – attentional problems - 809%, Alzheimer’s - 299% and Bi-polar disorder in children, has increased by a staggering 10,833%. Please note that four conditions which are sometimes referred to as mental health conditions are included in our neurological category.

All four have a psychological component. Yet each also shares the same biological underpinnings with the other neurological conditions. In particular, individuals experiencing neurological conditions listed here share a profound imbalance of neurotransmitters, including deficiencies in dopamine and serotonin. Additionally, pervasive neuron death, a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS, is also a chief characteristic of conditions like depression, bi-polar, ADD, anxiety and other psycho-social conditions. Here is a snapshot of the growth and magnitude of the societal impact from eleven neurological conditions:

 

Disease/ Condition Total Affected Generational Growth Total Cost
     ADD/ ADHD 5,312,000 139% $204.5 billion
     Alzheimer's 4,700,000 299% $226.6 billion
     Anxiety 40,000,000 104% $42.3 billion
     Panic Disorder 6,000,000 263% (included above)
     Autism Spectrum 4,664,280 2094% $268.2 billion
     Bipolar Disorder (children) 768,481 10833% $151 billion
     Depression 20,304,560 280% $192.3 billion
     Lupus 563,542 787% $9.9 billion
     Sleep: apnea 47,835,000 430% $115 billion
     Sleep: insomnia 61,228,800 123% $113 billion
     Stroke 6,800,000 262% 34.3 billion
     TOTALS 198,176,663 $1.36 trillion