The Epidemiology of Migraine Headache in General Population of Tehran, Iran.

BACKGROUND

Migraine as one of the most common types of headache is known to cause serious intervention with routine activities of affected individuals due to the devastating nature of attacks. The aim of this study was to provide epidemiological data of migraine in Iranian general population.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional general population study, migraine diagnoses (both episodic and chronic) were based on the International Classification of Headache Disorders. Face-to-face interviews were performed by 5 trained medical interns on a sample size of 2,300 people aged 12-65 years.

RESULTS

A total number of 2,076 subjects were enrolled for final analysis. The mean age of the subjects at the time of the study was 36.27 ± 14.56 years (age range 12-65 years). The 1-year prevalence of migraine was 27.6%. The prevalence of migraine among female subjects was significantly higher than among male subjects (36.7 vs. 21.6%, p < 0.001). The mean age of the subjects with migraine was 35.9 ± 12.96 years. Totally, 49.9% of migraine sufferers experienced at least one episode of aura. The most prevalent type of aura was numbness reported in 32.4% of migraine subjects.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the higher prevalence of migraine among Iranian general population compared to most of the other populations investigated by previous studies, these individuals experience a less severe course of disease.