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The proportion of migraine sufferers remained stable in the past
decade, according to the results of a new national headache survey.
However, doctors say many of the 28 million
US migraine sufferers are still being undertreated for
their disabling headaches.
Researchers conducted a nationally representative survey of 20,000
US households to examine the prevalence, diagnosis and treatment
of migraine headaches.
Migraine headaches are especially disabling headaches that usually
occur on one side of the head, last 4 to 72 hours, and cause symptoms
such as sensitivity to light and nausea.
The researchers reported that the proportion
of migraine sufferers seems to have remained the same
in the past decade, with about 13% of Americans over age 12 suffering
migraine headaches, as defined by the International Headache Society.
The research found that the proportion of men and women experiencing
migraines remained largely the same,
with women still three times as likely as men to have migraine headaches.
The new survey found that 18% of women and 6.5% of men reported
migraine headaches.
The proportion of patients seeing a doctor
for their migraines increased, with 48% of those with
migraine headaches obtaining physician diagnoses in 1999 compared
to 38% in the previous survey.
However, the research also showed that compared to a decade ago,
the same proportion of headache sufferers -- a little more than
half -- were still using over-the-counter pain medications to treat
their migraines, while 41% were now using prescription medications,
up from 37%.
Headache July/August 2001; 41:
638-645, 646-657
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