Background/Aim: Population-based epidemiological studies about headaches, especially migraine, have been carried out in many countries. The aim of this study was to assess the 1-year prevalence of migraine, probable migraine and tension-type headache (TTH) in the Croatian population. Methods: The design of the study was a cross-sectional survey of an adult population sample using a self-completed questionnaire. Results: The 1-year crude prevalence of migraine without and with aura in this study was 7.5%, of probable migraine 11.3%, and of TTH 21.2%. The 1-year age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of migraine was 6.2%, of probable migraine 8.8%, and of TTH 20.7%; the prevalence of migraine combined with probable migraine was 15.0%. Total crude prevalence of headache (combination of migraine, probable migraine and TTH) was 39.9%. Prevalence of migraine was higher in continental than in Mediterranean areas of Croatia. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the highest risk of suffering from any kind of headache is observed for the following people: living in Dubrovnik, being female, having elementary or high school education, being married, employed and living in an urban or suburban area. Conclusion: The prevalence of migraine and probable migraine is similar as in other Western countries. Certain demographic characteristics differ among patients with and without headache.

No abstract

In this study we compared the performance of 39 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with 28 age-, sex- and education-matched controls on both the Mini-Mental State Examination, a global cognitive assessment tool, and the Sternberg Short-Term memory scanning task, a standardized test of short-term memory (STM) processes. While the STM span of our MS patients did not differ from that of our controls, STM scanning time of the MS group was reliably slower than that of the controls and a significant correlation was observed between STM scanning time and duration but not severity of illness. Our results suggest that processing stages other than the manipulation of data within the STM buffer are also affected by MS.

The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between the mode of coping and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with migraine. We have also tried to examine the relationship of disease duration and the frequency of attacks with HRQoL and the ways of coping with stress. The research was done on a sample consisting of 106 participants (95 women and 11 men); mean age of 40 years (IQR 28-48) with the migraine lasting for 10 years (IRQ 5-20 years). The average number of attacks, over the last month, was two attacks (IRQ 1-3 attacks). Ways of coping questionnaire were used to estimate the mode of coping with stress and SF-36 questionnaire for HRQoL. The result showed the self-control as the most common way of coping with stress in patients with migraine. They also confirmed the existence of a significant connection of ways of coping with stress and HRQoL in people with migraine. There is a larger number of significant correlations of ways of coping connected with the domains of mental health than with the physical health. Escape/avoidance is significantly negatively correlated with the largest number of HRQoL domains, especially with existence of significant mental health (ρ = -0.447) and role limitation due to the emotional problems (ρ = -0.361). The number of migraine attacks has greater influence on HRQoL in patients with migraine than the disease duration. Our study showed the existence of significant correlations between the ways of coping with stress and HRQoL, especially with mental domains. In some domains, the correlation was even stronger than the one showing the disease duration and the number of attacks. The above-mentioned results suggest the directions in further formulation of psychological interventions that would be helpful for the additional treatment of migraine.

The significance of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography as a method to estimate an early post-traumatic intra-cranial pressure after severe brain injury was confirmed. This simple and non-invasive technique could be easily used in daily clinical practice and precede intra-cranial pressure monitoring in selected patients.