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Headaches and Migraines: Prevalence and Treatments
News Brief: Headaches and migraines are surprisingly common, new research reveals
Figuring out how many people around the world suffer headaches is a real headache, given lack of formal reporting, especially in countries without modern healthcare systems. But a new report takes a stab at the pain problem by reviewing 357 studies on “headache disorders,” a range of headache types that recur, as opposed to the rare or occasional variety you might get, say, with the flu or a single particularly bad day.
Here’s the percentage of people globally who suffer one of these conditions in a given year:
14%: Migraine
26%: Tension headache
52%: Any sort of headache disorder
The findings are detailed in the Journal of Headache and Pain.
The problem may be growing
Some previous studies have suggested the prevalence of headaches are increasing, but the findings have not been conclusive.
However…
Today, and on any given day, roughly 1.2 billion people around the world are dealing with a headache, nearly half of them suffering migraines, according to the new review. Migraines…
