What is the actual prevalence of migraine?

Wei Z Yeh, Leigh Blizzard, Bruce V Taylor, Wei Z Yeh, Leigh Blizzard, Bruce V Taylor

Abstract

Objectives: Population prevalence studies of migraine report prevalence rates of between 2.6 and 21.7%, with an average of ~12%. However, migraine prevalence among neurologists is reported to be significantly higher, between 27.6% and 48.6%. Increasing knowledge of the protean manifestations of migraine may explain this difference. Similarly, under-recognition of migraine in control groups may explain the lack of genetic and biomarker findings in this disorder. We therefore sought to determine the prevalence of migraine in an admixed group of individuals with varied knowledge of migraine symptomatology.

Methods: Attendees at the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists Annual Scientific Meeting (ANZAN ASM) 2017 were surveyed anonymously. Those surveyed included three groups: neurologists, neurology trainees, and others including nonclinical researchers, members of lay organizations, and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry.

Results: In total, 313 of 606 attendees responded (51.7%). 65.9% of neurologist, 57.4% of trainee, and 52.5% of others respondents had a personal history of migraine, with the difference between neurologists and others being statistically significant (p = .03). Migraine in migraineurs and nonmigraine headache in nonmigraineurs were nearly all self-diagnosed. Among neurologist migraineurs, 51.2% experienced migraine with aura and 43% migraine without aura.

Conclusions: Migraine prevalence is significantly higher in neurologists compared to non-neurologists and at least 2-3 times higher than reported in population prevalence studies. This may be due to significant under-recognition of migraine in non-neurologists. This under-recognition of migraine may significantly influence the search for genetic predictors and biomarkers of migraine.

Keywords: epidemiology; genetics; migraine; neurology; pain; prevalence.

© 2018 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Neurologists with a personal history of migraine and their migraine types. Labels formatted as group, frequency, proportion as percent. Migraine with aura, migraine without aura, and probable migraine with aura values, and percentages refer to respondents who listed these alone

References

    1. Alstadhaug, K. B. , Hernandez, A. , Naess, H. , & Stovner, L. J. (2012). Migraine among Norwegian neurologists. Headache, 52(9), 1369–1376.
    1. Anttila, V. , Stefansson, H. , Kallela, M. , Todt, U. , Terwindt, G. M. , Calafato, M. S. , … Artto, V. (2010). Genome‐wide association study of migraine implicates a common susceptibility variant on 8q22.1. Nature Genetics,42(10), 869–873.
    1. Burch, R. C. , Loder, S. , Loder, E. , & Smitherman, T. A. (2015). The prevalence and burden of migraine and severe headache in the United States: Updated statistics from government health surveillance studies. Headache, 55(1), 21–34.
    1. Chasman, D. I. , Schürks, M. , Anttila, V. , de Vries, B. , Schminke, U. , Launer, L. J. , … Ernst, F. (2011). Genome‐wide association study reveals three susceptibility loci for common migraine in the general population. Nature Genetics, 43(7), 695–698.
    1. De Vries, B. , Anttila, V. , Freilinger, T. , Wessman, M. , Kaunisto, M. A. , Kallela, M. , … Kubisch, C. (2016). Systematic re‐evaluation of genes from candidate gene association studies in migraine using a large genome‐wide association data set. Cephalalgia, 36(7), 604–614.
    1. Donnet, A. , Becker, H. , Allaf, B. , & Lantéri‐Minet, M. (2010). Migraine and migraines of specialists: Perceptions and management. Headache, 50(7), 1115–1125.
    1. Dzoljic, E. , Vlajinac, H. , Sipetic, S. , Marinkovic, J. , Grbatinic, I. , & Kostic, V. (2014). A survey of female students with migraine: What is the influence of family history and lifestyle? International Journal of Neuroscience, 124(2), 82–87.
    1. Evans, R. W. , & Evans, R. E. (2010). A survey of neurologists on the likeability of headaches and other neurological disorders. Headache, 50(7), 1126–1129.
    1. Evans, R. W. , & Ghosh, K. (2016). A survey of headache medicine physicians on the likeability of headaches and their personal headache history. Headache, 56(3), 540–546.
    1. Evans, R. W. , Lipton, R. B. , & Ritz, K. A. (2007). A survey of neurologists on self‐treatment and treatment of their families. Headache, 47(1), 58–64.
    1. Evans, R. W. , Lipton, R. B. , & Silberstein, S. D. (2003). The prevalence of migraine in neurologists. Neurology, 61(9), 1271–1272.
    1. Freilinger, T. , Anttila, V. , de Vries, B. , Malik, R. , Kallela, M. , Terwindt, G. M. , … Artto, V. (2012). Genome‐wide association analysis identifies susceptibility loci for migraine without aura. Nature Genetics, 44(7), 777–782.
    1. Gervil, M. , Ulrich, V. , Kaprio, J. , Olesen, J. , & Russell, M. B. (1999). The relative role of genetic and environmental factors in migraine without aura. Neurology, 53(5), 995–999.
    1. Gil‐Gouveia, R. (2014). Headache from the doctors' perspective. European Neurology, 71(3–4), 157–164.
    1. Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 Collaborators . (2015). Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet (London, England), 386(9995), 743–800.
    1. Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS) . (2013). The international classification of headache disorders, 3rd edition (beta version). Cephalalgia, 33(9), 629–808.
    1. Hernandez‐Latorre, M. A. , & Roig, M. (2000). Natural history of migraine in childhood. Cephalalgia, 20(6), 573–579.
    1. Honkasalo, M. L. , Kaprio, J. , Winter, T. , Heikkilä, K. , Sillanpää, M. , & Koskenvuo, M. (1995). Migraine and concomitant symptoms among 8167 adult twin pairs. Headache, 35(2), 70–78.
    1. Lipton, R. B. , Stewart, W. F. , Diamond, S. , Diamond, M. L. , & Reed, M. (2001). Prevalence and burden of migraine in the United States: Data from the American Migraine Study II. Headache, 41(7), 646–657.
    1. Lipton, R. B. , Stewart, W. F. , & Liberman, J. N. (2002). Self‐awareness of migraine: Interpreting the labels that headache sufferers apply to their headaches. Neurology, 58(9 Suppl 6), S21–S26.
    1. Lu, S.‐R. , Wang, S.‐J. , & Fuh, J.‐L. (2006). The practice pattern of migraine management among neurologists in Taiwan. Cephalalgia, 26(3), 310–313.
    1. Merikangas, K. R. (2013). Contributions of epidemiology to our understanding of migraine. Headache, 53(2), 230–246.
    1. Mulder, E. J. , Van Baal, C. , Gaist, D. , Kallela, M. , Kaprio, J. , Svensson, D. A. , … Boomsma, D. I. (2003). Genetic and environmental influences on migraine: A twin study across six countries. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 6(5), 422–431.
    1. Russell, M. B. , & Olesen, J. (1995). Increased familial risk and evidence of genetic factor in migraine. BMJ, 311(7004), 541–544.
    1. Stewart, W. F. , Staffa, J. , Lipton, R. B. , & Ottman, R. (1997). Familial risk of migraine: A population‐based study. Annals of Neurology, 41(2), 166–172.
    1. Svensson, D. A. , Larsson, B. , Waldenlind, E. , & Pedersen, N. L. (2003). Shared rearing environment in migraine: Results from twins reared apart and twins reared together. Headache, 43(3), 235–244.
    1. Ulrich, V. , Gervil, M. , Kyvik, K. , Olesen, J. , & Russell, M. (1999). The inheritance of migraine with aura estimated by means of structural equation modelling. Journal of Medical Genetics, 36(3), 225–227.
    1. Wang, S.‐J. (2003). Epidemiology of migraine and other types of headache in Asia. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 3(2), 104–108.

Source: PubMed

Sponsorit ja yhteistyökumppanit

Sairaudet

Huumeiden interventiot

3
Tilaa