The retrospective data analysis on the pedigree of nervous system diseases in children

Xiaohui Liu1, Huanxi Chen1, Xiansi Ma1

  • 1School of Statistics and Data Science, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, 330013, China.

Scientific Reports
|July 5, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Neurological disease patterns are shifting, with rising rates of neuroimmune and genetic metabolic disorders and declining infectious cases. This highlights evolving diagnostic needs and treatment gaps in pediatric neurology.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Epidemiology
  • Disease Classification

Background:

  • Diagnosis and treatment technologies continuously alter the classification of nervous system diseases.
  • Analyzing historical disease trends provides a macro-level understanding of diagnostic shifts and future treatment directions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To retrospectively analyze epidemiological characteristics of pediatric neurological diseases.
  • To identify trends in disease incidence, age of onset, gender distribution, and seasonality.
  • To understand the changing landscape of nervous system diseases in children.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 36,777 neurology inpatients from January 2012 to December 2020.
  • Statistical analysis including numerical characteristics, boxplots, density charts, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis tests, time-series plots, and seasonal indices.
  • Evaluation of factors such as age, gender, length of stay, patient numbers, and average daily hospital cost.

Main Results:

  • Neurological illnesses most commonly affect children aged 4-8 years; benign intracranial hypertension has the youngest mean age of onset.
  • Women constitute the majority of patients with central nervous system autoimmune diseases.
  • Infectious neurological diseases show seasonal variation (warm season), while autoimmune diseases peak in autumn/winter.
  • A significant decrease in intracranial infections and encephalopathy, contrasted by a rise in autoimmune and hereditary metabolic encephalopathies.
  • Polycentric distributions observed in various illness density plots.

Conclusions:

  • The epidemiology of pediatric nervous system diseases is changing, with an increasing proportion of neuroimmune and genetic metabolic diseases.
  • There is a need for improved understanding and diagnosis of many neurological conditions to facilitate individualized treatment and resource allocation.
  • Lack of effective treatments for many genetic neurological diseases necessitates further research.
  • Seasonal patterns indicate a need for enhanced public health measures, sanitation, and healthcare awareness.