Lancet study: Stroke caused nearly 7 lakh deaths in India in 2019, 7.4% of all mortalities

Headache was the most prevalent neurological disorder in India in 2019, affecting 488 million people. The prevalence of infectious disorders has gone down considerably and non-communicable disorders such as stroke, headache and epilepsy have become common.

The study predicts that the greatest increase in prevalence will occur in eastern sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of people living with dementia is expected to climb by 357%.

Stroke is the predominant cause of mortality due to neurological disorders in India and caused 6,99,000 deaths in 2019, which was 7.4 per cent of the total deaths in the country, a study published in Lancet Global Health has said. Stroke was responsible for 68 per cent of deaths from neurological disorders followed by Alzheimer’s and other dementia (12 per cent), and encephalitis (5 per cent).

Stroke (37.9 per cent), headache disorders (17.5 per cent) and epilepsy (11.3 per cent) are the leading contributors to the burden of neurological disorders in the country followed by cerebral palsy (5.7 per cent), encephalitis (5.3 per cent) meningitis (4.8 per cent), Alzheimer’s and other dementias (4.6 per cent) and traumatic brain injuries (4.1 per cent).

Headache (comprising migraine and tension-type headache) was the most prevalent neurological disorder in India in 2019, affecting 488 million people. The prevalence of migraine was higher in females aged 35–59 years than in males of the same age.

With an ageing population, the burden of neurological disorders is increasing worldwide. However, evidence regarding the burden in India was scarce and this new scientific paper published online today (Wednesday) in Lancet Global Health has summarised the first comprehensive estimates of the disease burden from neurological disorders and their trends in each state from 1990-2019.

The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and others. Over 300 scientists and experts from 100 institutions were engaged in this collaborative work.

Prof Gagandeep Singh, head of the department of neurology at Dayanand Medical College Ludhiana and first author of the paper, told The Indian Express, “Stroke deaths were highest in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. The reasons for this observation are not clear. Perhaps, medical infrastructure to treat stroke should be scaled up in these states or more people might be having strokes in these states and hence we need to work on preventing strokes by treating hypertension, diabetes and reducing smoking.”

Though earlier infectious disorders of the brain were thought to be most common, it is no longer the case. According to the report, the prevalence of infectious disorders has gone down considerably and non-communicable disorders such as stroke, headache and epilepsy have become the most common causes of disability and death.

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“We need to work around these disorders in terms of providing health infrastructure and personnel. This is an epidemiological transition or flip. Injury-related neurological disorders have increased threefold since 1991. These are entirely preventable. So, this is a noteworthy finding and we need to work on preventing head injuries by simple measures like wearing helmets,’ Prof Singh said.

These neurological disorders include non-communicable neurological disorders (stroke, headache disorders, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, brain and central nervous system cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, motor neuron diseases, and other neurological disorders), communicable neurological disorders (encephalitis, meningitis, and tetanus), and injury-related neurological disorders (traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries).

According to the estimates, at least 82.8 per cent of the total neurological disorders burden is due to non-communicable disorders, 11.2 per cent due to communicable ones and 6 per cent due to injury-related ones.

N Girish Rao, professor at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences and a co-author on this paper said, “headache is the most common neurological disorder affecting 1 in 3 Indians, and is often neglected in terms of public health priority. It is the second leading contributor to the disease burden from neurological disorders in India. Migraine affects females more than males, greatly affecting adults in the working-age population. Available data indicate the huge unrecognised burden of headaches in India. There is an urgent need to initiate and bring about comprehensive, structured headache services across all the states. Headache, especially migraine, needs to be recognised as a public health problem and included under the national non-communicable disease control programme.”

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Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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