Neurological Conditions: estimated prevalence in Scotland in 2026

Key Points

• Nearly 1.1 million people registered with a general practice in Scotland have a diagnosed neurological condition. 
• 18.2% of people registered with a general practice in Scotland have a diagnosed neurological condition.  
• The most common neurological conditions with a general practice recorded diagnosis are migraine, acquired brain injury, peripheral neuropathy and epilepsy. It is important to note that prevalence (the number of people diagnosed with a condition) is one element of the burden of disease. Other elements are disease severity and premature death, which will vary across the conditions reported on but are out of scope of this report.
• Estimated prevalence data are presented for 25 specific neurological conditions, by number and as a percentage of people registered with a Scottish general practice.
• Data are presented by condition for Scotland as a whole, by NHS regional Health Board, by local Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and by sex and age.  
• Data representing 99.4% of people registered with a general practice in Scotland are presented in this report. This shows that aggregate data extracts obtained by Public Health Scotland’s new Primary Care Intelligence Service for Scotland (PCIS) can provide near-complete coverage of general practice registered patients.