An Epidemiological Study to Assess Migraine Prevalence in a Sample of Italian Population Presenting to Their GPs

Roncolato, Maurizio; Fabbri, Leonardo; Recchia, Gabriel; Cavazzuti, L.; Visoná, Giovanni; Brignoli, Ovidio; Medea, Gerardo

doi:10.1159/000008143

Cited by 53 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Furthermore, subjects who seek medical advice because of headache might differ in personality from those who do not consult a doctor [13]. In our country, patients do not tend to visit their primary care providers for headache [4]. As the majority of our patients had severe and disabling migraine, it is surprising that over two thirds consulted their GPs for headache for the first time only after the awareness campaign.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Assuming a migraine prevalence of approximately 11.6% [4], in a general population of 12,000 subjects exposed to posters and contacted by mail we expected to be contacted by 1300-1500 migraineurs, whereas approximately only 15% (195 patients) contacted us. This low percentage is disappointing even though it fits in with the results of similar general awareness campaigns by mail, for other common diseases [11].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a Danish study, among subjects with migraine 56% had, at some time, consulted their GP because of migraine [3]. An Italian study on migraine prevalence showed that 25% of the subjects reported headache but only 2.6% of them sought medical advice [4]. Furthermore, Lipton et al observed that only 70% of consulters are correctly diagnosed and a lower percentage of them receive prescription medication [5].…”

Section: Abstract Migraine • Id Migrainementioning

confidence: 99%

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The effects of a sensitisation campaign on unrecognised migraine: the Casilino study

et al. 2007

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A striking feature of migraine is the difference between the estimated migraine prevalence and the actual number of migraineurs consulting their general practitioners (GPs). We investigated the impact of a sensitisation campaign on migraine in a large cohort of patients, living in a district of Rome. The study involved 10 GPs and a population of about 12 000 people, contacted by mail and posters located in GP clinics. Both the letter and poster stressed the impact of headache on quality of life and included the Italian version of the three-item Identification of Migraine (ID Migraine) screening test, consisting of questions on disability, nausea and photophobia. If the subjects suffered from headaches, they were invited to contact their GPs for a visit and a free consultation with a headache expert. By means of this sensitisation campaign, 195 headache patients consulted their GPs. Ninety-two percent of them (n=179) were migraineurs; 73% of them had never consulted a physician for headache. The ID Migraine test had a sensitivity of 0.92 (95% CI 0.86–0.95), a specificity of 0.75 (95% CI 0.47–0.91) and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 0.97 (95% CI 0.93–0.99) for a clinical diagnosis of migraine, according to the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria. This study confirms that a large number of migraine patients never see a doctor for their headache. This awareness campaign is likely to identify the severest cases of undiagnosed migraineurs. However, mailing campaigns do not seem to be so effective in bringing undiagnosed migraine patients into the primary care setting, and more efficient strategies have to be planned.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Abstract Migraine • Id Migrainementioning

confidence: 99%

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The effects of a sensitisation campaign on unrecognised migraine: the Casilino study

et al. 2007

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“…intensity, frequency) which have been published, along with the epidemiological data, separately [3].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, an Italian study has estimated the prevalence of migraine in Italy to be 11.4% of the adult population; this figure indicates a total number of 5.5 million migraine sufferers in Italy [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%