Supplementary Material for: The burden of neurological diseases in East Asia: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023

Background and Objectives Neurologic disorders represent a growing global health burden. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023, they remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, a comprehensive assessment specifically focused on East Asia has been lacking. This study investigates data from the GBD 1990–2023 study to provide detailed and updated insights into the burden of neurologic disorders in East Asia. Methods We analyzed the 1990–2023 burden of thirteen neurologic disorders in East Asia (e.g., stroke, dementia, epilepsy, migraine) using incidence, prevalence, deaths, and DALYs, stratified by sex, age, year, and location. Joinpoint regression assessed temporal trends and annual changes in age-standardized rates. Results In 2023, the neurologic disorders with the highest absolute DALYs in East Asia were stroke (44.42 million, 95% UI 39.17–49.56), Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (12.02 million, 95% UI 5.87–23.28), and migraine (6.80 million, 95% UI 4.56–9.33). Stroke was the leading cause of neurologic deaths (2.13 million, 95% UI 1.81–2.42), followed by Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (0.61 million, 95% UI 0.15–1.44) and Parkinson's disease (0.03 million, 95% UI 0.03–0.04 million). From 1990 to 2023, the overall Age-standardized DALY rates (ASDR) for neurologic disorders showed a slight decline (EAPC = -0.05; 95% CI: -0.1 to -0.01). However, both the absolute number of DALYs and the prevalence of neurological disorders demonstrated a steady increase, driven primarily by population growth and aging. This divergence between declining age-specific risk and rising absolute burden poses a mounting challenge for healthcare systems in the region. Substantial regional variation was observed in age-standardized rates across East Asia. Joinpoint regression analysis further revealed declining trends in the ASDR, ASIR, and ASPR for stroke, whereas Alzheimer's disease and other dementias showed significant increases across all three metrics. Migraine exhibited increases in ASDR, ASIR, and ASPR. Discussion This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the burden of neurological disorders in East Asia from 1990 to 2023, revealing an urgent need for targeted public health strategies to address the growing challenge of neurological disorders.