Studies performed in selected populations have shown a poor utilization of triptans for migraine. Our study was aimed at establishing patterns of triptans utilization in a large community using the pharmaceutical prescriptions database of two consecutive years in a regional Health Authority in Italy. About 0.5% of the population observed received triptans prescriptions in a year, but > 50% of the cases received only one prescription. On the other hand, 46% of triptan users did not receive a triptan prescription in the following year (past users): in 80% of cases, patients received only 1-2 triptan packages. The evaluation of the discontinued triptan type has shown percentages varying between 30 and 70%. The percentage of triptan users who received a triptan prescription for the first time in the successive year of study (new users) was 52%. These findings together highlight a high turnover in triptans utilization. Less than 15% of subjects received more than one triptan product in the 2 years. In conclusion, we observed a low percentage of triptan users and a low rate of utilization, associated with a high percentage of discontinuation and new utilization (high turnover), without any substantial increase in triptans utilization during the years. All these data probably do not support optimal satisfaction with triptan therapy.

Our study shows that AD acts as headache triggers in a small percentage of migraine patients. Differing from some prior studies, our data suggest that AD do not trigger MA and TH attacks. Moreover, the percentage of abstainers in our sample is higher compared with that reported in general population surveys.

A multicenter, cross-sectional observational study (Italian GENder Differences in Awareness of Cardiovascular risk, IGENDA study) was carried out to evaluate the perception and knowledge of cardiovascular risk among Italian women. An anonymous questionnaire was completed by 4454 women (44.3 ± 14.1 years). The 70% of respondents correctly identified cardiovascular disease (CVD) as the leading cause of death. More than half of respondents quoted cancer as the greatest current and future health problem of women of same age. Sixty percent of interviewed women considered CVD as an almost exclusively male condition. Although respondents showed a good knowledge of the major cardiovascular risk factors, the presence of cardiovascular risk factors was not associated with higher odds of identifying CVD as the biggest cause of death. Less than 10% of respondents perceived themselves as being at high CVD risk, and the increased CVD risk perception was associated with ageing, higher frequency of cardiovascular risk factors and disease, and a poorer self-rated health status. The findings of this study highlight the low perception of cardiovascular risk in Italian women and suggest an urgent need to enhance knowledge and perception of CVD risk in women as a real health problem and not just as a as a life-threatening threat.