Headache affects more than 50% of the world's population

Headache is one of the most common and disabling health conditions worldwide. This discomfort can have multiple causes, ranging from stress, sleep problems, or overuse of medicines.

Now, a large-scale scientific review determined how common headaches are. To achieve a real estimate of the overall incidence of this disorder, scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim (NTNU) reviewed 357 publications between 1961 and the end of 2020 to estimate the global prevalence of headaches.

The new report concluded that 52% of the population suffers from a headache disorder each year and 14% suffer from migraines. The results of this review were published in the specialized journal Journal of Headache and Pain.

Most of the publications considered in the review reported on adults between 20 and 65 years old, but some also included adolescents and children up to 5 years old, and people older than 65 years old.

After reviewing research over the past six decades, the authors estimated that 52% of the world's population experienced a headache at least once a year, 14% suffered a migraine, 26% had tension-type headache, and 4.6% suffered this discomfort for 15 days or more a month.

In addition, they found that all types of headache were more common in women than in men, more markedly migraines (17% in women compared to 8.6% in men) and headaches for 15 or more days a month (6% in women compared to 2.9% in men).

“Compared to our previous report and global estimates, the data suggest that rates of headaches and migraines may be increasing,” said Lars Jacob Stovner, lead author of the paper. However, he stressed that more research is still needed to accurately determine the magnitudes of this increase and arrive at conclusive results.

Of the 12 studies that reported participants' headache over the past day, the authors estimated that 15.8% of the world's population suffers from at least one headache on any given day, and nearly half of those people report migraine (7%).

“Many other body aches increase as we age. But migraines and headaches are more common in the busiest years of life,” said Stovner, who is also working on the Global Headache Campaign.

On the other hand, the authors indicated that most of the publications they reviewed came from high-income countries with good health care systems, so this may not reflect all countries. Further research on middle- and low-income countries would help to present an even more accurate overall estimate. However, to obtain data from as many countries as possible, the authors used a wide range of studies that sampled participants outside clinical settings, such as company employees, university students, and health personnel in hospitals and medical centers, among others.

“The prevalence of headache disorders remains high worldwide and the burden of different types can affect many. We must strive to reduce this burden through prevention and better treatment. Our study helps us understand how to improve prevention methods,” the researchers concluded.

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