Headaches can affect more than half of the world’s population

A review study published on Tuesday (12) in the scientific journal Headache and Pain Journal Brings an update on the prestigious study on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) from headache. Based on 357 publications analyzed by the authors, it was possible to determine that 52% of the world’s population is affected by some type of headache each year, and 14% complain of migraine, which is a chronic pain.

Because conclusions of the global burden of disease are based on epidemiological studies (published and unpublished) with a variety of methodologies and estimates, the research team focused on updating headache documentssummarizes global prevalence estimates for all headache types, as well as for migraine, tension-type headache (TTH) and so-called 15-day headache (H15).

In addition to comparing its updated data with estimates of the global burden of disease, the study also analyzed how the methodological factors used affected the observed prevalence estimates.

Is headache increasing in the world?

Source: Shutterstock / reproductionsource: stock struggle

The team of scientists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) found an estimated prevalence of active headache of 52% in the 357 publications published between 1961 and the end of 2020, mostly from high-income countries. In addition, there is also a prevalence of migraine (14%), CTT (26%) and H15 (4.6%). Data was based GBD2019 Reportthe latest in the series.

According to the study’s lead author, Lars Jakob Stofner, Professor at NTNU, although it is too early to conclude that headaches are increasing worldwide, what was clear in the current study is that their prevalence is high and that They constitute a ‘heavy burden’ on health services. The survey indicates that 15.8% of the world’s population suffers from a headache every day.

Article – Commodity – Headache and Pain Journal – This painful: 10.1186 / s10194-022-01402-2.