Migraine Epidemiology

Estimates suggest that migraine affects approximately 11% of the world's adult population.^[1]

Most migraineurs experience their first attack during childhood or as an adolescent, but the onset of first migraine can sometimes occur during adult life. The prevalence of migraine is higher in females than males.^[2-4]

• After puberty, the prevalence of migraine increases much more rapidly in females.
• By 20 years of age, migraine is twice as common in women as in men.

• The prevalence of migraine continues to increase during the years of menstruation, and the female-to

Previously, it was considered that migraine was correlated with high socioeconomic status and intelligence. However, this o-male ratio peaks at 3.3 to 1 between the ages of 42 and 44 years.

• Migraine can affect people at any age, but it is most common between the ages of 25 and 55 years, when work and family commitments are maximal.

Various surveys have been carried out to estimate the prevalence of migraine in different countries. The outcomes of these surveys are presented below.^{[5, 4, 6-20]}

 
Research suggests that the prevalence of migraine is higher in white Americans than in African Americans^{[2, 21]} or Asian Americans,^[21] and similar trends in terms of ethnicity have been observed in other countries. Such differences in prevalence may be due to methodological shortcomings or to cultural and environmental factors. In addition, genetic susceptibility to migraine may also differ between countries.

bservation is likely due to intelligence and social class predicting those patients more likely to consult a physician about their condition, rather than an actual predisposition to migraine.^[22]

References:
2. Stovner L, Hagen K, Jensen R, Katsarava Z, Lipton R, Scher A, et al. The global burden of headache: a documentation of headache prevalence and disability worldwide. Cephalalgia 2007;27: 193-210.
24. Lipton RB, Bigal ME, Diamond M, Freitag F, Reed ML, Stewart WF. Migraine prevalence, disease burden, and the need for preventive therapy. Neurology 2007;68: 343-9.
25. Lipton RB, Stewart WF, Diamond S, Diamond ML, Reed M. Prevalence and burden of migraine in the United States: data from the American Migraine Study II. Headache 2001;41: 646-57.
26. Lipton RB, Stewart WF, Scher AI. Epidemiology and economic impact of migraine. Curr Med Res Opin 2001;17 Suppl 1: s4-12.
20. MacGregor EA, Brandes J, Eikermann A. Migraine prevalence and treatment patterns: the global Migraine and Zolmitriptan Evaluation survey. Headache 2003;43: 19-26.
6. Abduljabbar M, Ogunniyi A, al Balla S, Alballaa S, al-Dalaan A. Prevalence of primary headache syndrome in adults in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. Headache 1996;36: 385-8.
7. Alders EE, Hentzen A, Tan CT. A community-based prevalence study on headache in Malaysia. Headache 1996;36: 379-84.
8. Cheung RT. Prevalence of migraine, tension-type headache, and other headaches in Hong Kong. Headache 2000;40: 473-9.
9. Clarke CE, MacMillan L, Sondhi S, Wells NE. Economic and social impact of migraine. QJM 1996;89: 77-84.
10. Edmeads J, Findlay H, Tugwell P, Pryse-Phillips W, Nelson RF, Murray TJ. Impact of migraine and tension-type headache on life-style, consulting behaviour, and medication use: a Canadian population survey. Can J Neurol Sci 1993;20: 131-7.
11. Gobel H, Petersen-Braun M, Soyka D. The epidemiology of headache in Germany: a nationwide survey of a representative sample on the basis of the headache classification of the International Headache Society. Cephalalgia 1994;14: 97-106.
12. Hagen K, Zwart JA, Vatten L, Stovner LJ, Bovim G. Prevalence of migraine and non-migrainous headache--head-HUNT, a large population-based study. Cephalalgia 2000;20: 900-6.
13. Henry P, Auray JP, Gaudin AF, Dartigues JF, Duru G, Lanteri-Minet M, et al. Prevalence and clinical characteristics of migraine in France. Neurology 2002;59: 232-7.
14. Launer LJ, Terwindt GM, Ferrari MD. The prevalence and characteristics of migraine in a population-based cohort: the GEM study. Neurology 1999;53: 537-42.
15. Lipton RB, Scher AI, Kolodner K, Liberman J, Steiner TJ, Stewart WF. Migraine in the United States: epidemiology and patterns of health care use. Neurology 2002;58: 885-94.
16. Mitchell P, Wang JJ, Currie J, Cumming RG, Smith W. Prevalence and vascular associations with migraine in older Australians. Aust N Z J Med 1998;28: 627-32.
17. Russell MB, Rasmussen BK, Thorvaldsen P, Olesen J. [Prevalence and sex distribution of different forms of migraine]. Ugeskr Laeger 1996;158: 1369-72.
18. Sakai F, Igarashi H. Prevalence of migraine in Japan: a nationwide survey. Cephalalgia 1997;17: 15-22.
19. Steiner TJ, Scher AI, Stewart WF, Kolodner K, Liberman J, Lipton RB. The prevalence and disability burden of adult migraine in England and their relationships to age, gender and ethnicity. Cephalalgia 2003;23: 519-27.
20. Tekle Haimanot R, Seraw B, Forsgren L, Ekbom K, Ekstedt J. Migraine, chronic tension-type headache, and cluster headache in an Ethiopian rural community. Cephalalgia 1995;15: 482-8.
21. Stewart WF, Lipton RB, Liberman J. Variation in migraine prevalence by race. Neurology 1996;47: 52-9.
22. Waters WE. Migraine: intelligence, social class, and familial prevalence. Br Med J 1971;2: 77-81.