Abstract
Migraine is a highly prevalent headache disorder that has a substantial impact on the individual and society. Over the past decade, substantial advances in research have increased understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, epidemiology, and treatment of the disorder. This article reviews data on the epidemiology and impact of migraine. It also highlights the increased awareness of migraine, citing examples from the popular media and the Internet.
Similar content being viewed by others
References and Recommended Reading
Wolff H: Personality features and reactions of subjects with migraine. Arch Neurol Psychiatry 1937, 37:895–921.
Stewart WF, Linet M, Celentano D, et al.: Age- and sex-specific incidence rates of migraine with and without visual aura. Am J Epidemiol 1991, 134:1111–1120.
Brown N, Rips L, Shevell S: The subjective dates of natural events in very long-term memory. Cognit Psychol 1985, 17:139–177.
Stang P, Yanagihara T, Swanson J, et al.: Incidence of migraine headache: a population-based study in Olmstead County, Minnesota. Neurology 1992, 42:1657–1662.
Rasmussen B: Epidemiology of headache. Cephalalgia 1995, 15:45–68.
Breslau N, Chilcoat H, Andreski P: Further evidence on the link between migraine and neuroticism. Neurology 1996, 47:663–667.
Scher A, Stewart W, Lipton R: Migraine and headache: a meta-analytic approach. In Epidemiology of Pain. Edited by Crombie I. Seattle: IASP Press; 1999:159–170. Describes the variation in reported prevalence among 18 population studies that used the IHS criteria. Approximately 70% of the variation in prevalence for females, and 56% of the variation in prevalence for males was accounted for by age (age, age2) and geographic region.
Stewart W, Simon D, Schechter A, Lipton R: Population variation in migraine prevalence: a meta-analysis. J Clin Epidemiol 1995, 48:269–280.
Abu-Arefeh I, Russell G: Prevalence of headache and migraine in schoolchildren. BMJ 1994, 309:765–769.
Alders E, Hentzen A, Tan C: A community-based prevalence study on headache in Malaysia. Headache 1996, 36:379–384.
Arregui A, Cabrera J, Leon-Velarde F, et al.: High prevalence of migraine in a high-altitude population. Neurology 1991, 41:1668–1669.
Barea L, Tannhauser M, Rotta N: An epidemiologic study of headache among children and adolescents of southern Brazil. Cephalalgia 1996, 16:545–549.
Breslau N, Davis G, Andreski P: Migraine, psychiatric disorders, and suicide attempts: an epidemiologic study of young adults. Psychiatry Res 1991, 37:11–23.
Cruz M, Cruz I, Preux P, et al.: Headache and cysticercosis in Ecuador, South America. Headache 1995, 35:93–97.
Franceschi M, Colombo B, Rossi P, Canal N: Headache in a population-based elderly cohort: an ancillary study to the Italian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ILSA). Headache 1997, 37:79–82.
Henry P, Michel P, Brochet B, et al.: A nationwide survey of migraine in France: prevalence and clinical features in adults. Cephalalgia 1992, 12:229–237.
Launer L, Terwindt G, Ferrari M: The prevalence and characteristics of migraine in a population-based cohort. Neurology 1999, 53:537–542.
Linet MS, Stewart WF, Celentano DD, et al.: An epidemiologic study of headache among adolescents and young adults. JAMA 1989, 261:2211–2216.
O’Brien B, Goeree R, Streiner D: Prevalence of migraine headache in Canada: a population-based survey. Int J Epidemiol 1994, 23:1020–1026.
Rasmussen BK, Olesen J: Migraine with aura and migraine without aura; an epidemiological study.Cephalalgia 1992, 12:221–228.
Sakai F, Igarashi H: Prevalence of migraine in Japan: a nationwide survey. Cephalalgia 1997, 17:15–22.
Stewart WF, Lipton RB, Liberman J: Variation in migraine prevalence by race. Neurology 1996, 16:231–238.
Stewart WF, Lipton RB, Celentano DD, Reed ML: Prevalence of migraine headache in the United States: relation to age, income, race, and other sociodemographic factors. JAMA 1992, 267:64–69.
Tekle-Haimanot R, Seraw B, Forsgren L, et al.: Migraine, chronic tension-type headache, and cluster headache in an Ethiopian rural community. Cephalalgia 1995, 15:482–488.
Thomson A, White G, West R: The prevalence of bad headaches including migraine in a multiethnic community. N Z Med J 1993, 106:477–480.
Wong T, Wong K, Yu T, Kay R: Prevalence of migraine and other headaches in Hong Kong. Neuroepidemiology 1995, 14:82–91.
Kryst S, Scherl E: A population-based survey of the social and personal impact of migraine. Headache 1994, 34:344–350.
Lipton RB, Stewart WF: Migraine in the United States: a review of epidemiology and health care use. Neurology 1993, 43(suppl 3):S6-S10.
Lipton R, Stewart W, Celentano D, Reed M: Undiagnosed migraine headaches: a comparison of symptom-based and reported physician diagnosis. Arch Intern Med 1992, 152:1273–1278.
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.
Rasmussen B: Migraine and tension-type headache in a general population: psychosocial factors. Int J Epidemiol 1992, 21:1138–1143.
Stewart W, Schechter A, Lipton R: Migraine heterogeneity: disability, pain intensity, and attack frequency and duration. Neurology 1994, 44(suppl 4):S24-S39.
Rasmussen B, Jensen R, Schroll M, Olesen J: Epidemiology of headache in a general population: a prevalence study. J Clin Epidemiol 1991, 44:1147–1157.
Pryse-Phillips W, Findlay H, Tugwell P, et al.: A Canadian population survey on the clinical, epidemiologic and societal impact of migraine and tension-type headache. Can J Neurol Sci 1992, 19:333–339.
Lipton R, Hamelsky S, Kolodner K, Stewart W: Migraine, quality of life, and depression: a population-based case-control study. Neurology 2000, 55:629–635. Reports on the influence of migraine and comorbid depression on HRQoL. Two studies of similar design were conducted in the United States and United Kingdom among a population-based sample of migraine sufferers and nonmigraine controls. Migraine sufferers in the general population have lower HRQoL than nonmigraine controls. Migraine and depression are highly comorbid, and each exerts a significant and independent influence on HRQoL.
Terwindt G, Launer L, Ferrari M: The impact of migraine on quality of life in the general population: the GEM study. Neurology 1998, 50(suppl 4):A434. Used the SF-36 to estimate the impact of migraine, migraine subtypes, and attack frequency on HRQoL in a population-based sample of migraine sufferers. Migraine sufferers, regardless of subtype, reported lower quality of life than the general population. Furthermore, as attack frequency increased, HRQoL decreased.
Lipton R, Liberman J, Kolodner K, et al.: Migraine headache disability and quality-of-life: a population-based casecontrol study. Headache 1999, 39:365. Measured HRQoL and disability in a population-based sample of migraine sufferers and nonmigraine controls. Migraine sufferers had significantly lower HRQoL scores than the nonmigraine controls. HRQoL decreased as disability increased.
Steiner TJ, Lipton RB, Liberman JN, et al.: Work and family impact of migraine: a population-based case-control study. Neurology 1999, 52(suppl 2):A470-A471. Measured the impact of migraine on work, family, and social life in a population-based study of migraine sufferers and nonmigraine controls. Migraine sufferers experienced reductions in time at work, and satisfaction at work and home, as well as quality of life.
Silberstein S, Lipton R, Breslau N: Migraine: association with personality characteristics and psychopathology. Cephalalgia 1995, 15:358–369.
Merikangas K, Angst J, Isler H: Migraine and psychopathology: results of the Zurich cohort study of young adults. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1990, 47:849–853.
Stewart W, Linet M, Celentano D: Migraine headaches and panic attacks. Psychosom Med 1989, 51:559–569.
Stewart W, Schechter A, Liberman J: Physician consultation for headache pain and history of panic: results from a populationbased study. Am J Med 1992, 92:35S-40S.
Merikangas K, Stevens D, Angst J: Headache and personality: results of a community sample of young adults. 18th Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum Congress. Migraine: the interface between neurology and psychiatry (1991, Nice, France). J Psychiatr Res 1993, 27:187–196.
Breslau N: Migraine, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Neurology 1992, 42:392–395.
Breslau N, Davis G: Migraine, major depression and panic disorder: a prospective epidemiologic study of young adults. Cephalalgia 1992, 12:85–90.
Breslau N, David G: Migraine, physical health and psychiatric disorder: a prospective epidemiologic study in young adults. J Psychiatry Res 1993, 27:211–221.
Breslau N, Davis G, Schultz L, Peterson F: Joint 1994 Wolff Award Presentation. Migraine and major depression: a longitudinal study. Headache 1994, 34:387–393.
Andermann E, Andermann F: Migraine-epilepsy relationships: epidemiological and genetic aspects. In Migraine and Epilepsy. Edited by Andermann F, Lugaresi E. Boston: Butterworth Publishers; 1987:281.
Lipton R, Ottman R, Ehrenberg B, Hauser W: Comorbidity of migraine: the connection between migraine and epilepsy. Neurology 1994, 44:2105–2110.
Ottman R, Lipton R: Is the comorbidity of epilepsy and migraine due to a shared genetic susceptibility? Neurology 1996, 47:918–924.
Tzourio C, Iglesias S, Hubert J, et al.: Migraine and risk of ischaemic stroke: a case-control study. BMJ 1993, 307:289–292.
Tzourio C, Tehindrazanarivelo A, Iglesias S, et al.: Case-control study of migraine and risk of ischaemic stroke in young women. BMJ 1995, 310:830–833.
Schechter A, Rozen T, Silberstein S, et al.: Raynaud’s phenomenon and migraine: are they comorbid? A population-based casecontrol study. Neurology 1998, 50(suppl 4):A435.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hamelsky, S.W., Stewart, W.F. & Lipton, R.B. Epidemiology of migraine. Current Science Inc 5, 189–194 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-001-0088-9
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-001-0088-9