The Zurich Study: XXIII. Epidemiology of headache syndromes in the Zurich cohort study of young adults

Abstract

This study examines the 1 year prevalence rates of headache syndromes in an epidemiologic cohort study of young adults ages 29-30 in Zurich, Switzerland. The 1 year prevalence rates of headache subtypes were 3.3% for migraine with aura and 21.3% of migraine without aura as defined by the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria. The demographic distribution, clinical features, sequelae, and treatment patterns of subjects with specific headache subtypes are described. The rates of migraine are compared to those of other community samples that have employed the IHS criteria for headache subtypes. Subjects with migraine reported pervasive impairment in nearly every life role including occupation, leisure, and social relationships. Despite the substantial degree of impairment in occupational and social functioning that was associated with migraine, an extremely low proportion of subjects had received professional treatment for headache. These results suggest that a concerted effort should be directed towards education regarding the classification of headache and the availability of efficacious treatment for migraine.

Has the prevalence of migraine and tension-type headache changed over a 12-year period? A Danish population survey

“…Lipton et al found an overall 1-year prevalence rate of 18% and 7% in females and males, respectively, but in the age-group 30-39 years old, the prevalence was as high as 27% and 10%, respectively [5]. When comparing with age-specific prevalence rates, our results are in agreement with most previous findings [3][4][5][6][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

Background morbidity of headache in an adult general population

“…The oneyear prevalence of headache ranged from 51% to 68% [15,16]. Epidemiological data on the prevalence of tensiontype headache have shown a range from 16% to 44.5% [15][16][17], of migraine from 10-25% [14,16,[18][19][20], and the prevalence of frequent headache has been estimated at 27% [21].…”

Nosology and treatment of primary headache in a Swiss headache clinic

“…As there were altogether 1166 women, more than half of them without gainful occupation, and more or less able to wait at home for the end of a bad headache attack or a bad headache episode, the present reports are showing only part of this problem. Merikangas and co-workers [1] found up to 90% impairment of social and leisure activities, and up to 75% occupational impairment in the migraine sufferers among the high-risk group of the Zurich cohort study. According to the IHS criteria [5] and definitions the intensity of tension-type headache should not be severe, that is, not severe enough to block the usual daily activities.…”

“…In a sizeable minority, disability occurred on more than 30 days per year: 11.3% of all patients, 13.4% of those with migraine and 7.6% of those with tension-type headache. These severe problems may be concentrated in the specialist clinic but they are closely related to the encroachment on the quality of life in the general population [1].…”

“…Therefore, systematic review of data had to be limited to small samples of the clinic population [3,4]. Meanwhile Merikangas and co-workers found surprising data on headache and migraine in their Zurich cohort study [1], where they followed a sample of the general population over 20 years. Migraine and tension-type headache were shown to be major problems in the Zurich population at large.…”