Headache

By Abdullahi Abdullateef

A team of researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, says it has reviewed over 357 publications estimating 15.8% of the global population have a headache on any given day signifying the prevalence of headache worldwide.

This estimation is reported in a review of 357 publications from between 1961 and the end of 2021. The review was published in The Journal of Headache on Tuesday, 12th April, 2022.

Noting that the majority of publications reported in the review indicate the prevalance of headache among adults between 20 and 65. It also reports that children upto five years of age and adolescents suffered acute headache.

Similarly, the newswise.com reports that of the 357 publications reviewed, it has found that 52% of the global population have experienced a headache disorder within a given year, with 14% reporting a migraine. 26% percent reporting a tension-type headache and 4.6% reporting a headache for 15 or more days per month.

The Lead Author, Lars Jacob Stovner says: “Compared to our previous report and global estimates. The data does suggest that headaches and migraines rates may be increasing. What is clear is that overall,headache disorders are highly prevalent worldwide and can be a high burden.”

“It may also be of interest in future to analyse the different causes of headache that varied across groups to target prevention and treatment more effectively.”

Jacob adds that all the types of headache are more common in females than males most especially migraines.

Noting that there are 17 percent in females compared to 8.6% in males having headache for 15 or more days per month representing 6% in females compared to 2.9% in males.

He maintains that the majority of the publications reviewed reported from high income countries and gave recommendations that further investigation into middle and low-income countries would help present a more accurate estimation of prevalence of headache in the globe.