Ishii Ryotaro, Takizawa Tsubasa, Suzuki Shiho, Danno Daisuke, Miura Moemi, Tanizawa Yoshinori, Osaga Satoshi, Hashimoto Chie, Komori Mika
Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
J Headache Pain. 2025 May 7;26(1):107. doi: 10.1186/s10194-025-02046-8.
People with migraine may prefer over-the-counter (OTC) drugs because of multiple reasons, but their overuse can cause medication overuse headaches. This analysis of the ObserVational survey of the Epidemiology, tReatment, and Care Of MigrainE (OVERCOME [Japan]) 2nd study describes the real-world use of OTC headache drugs and the challenges that potentially prevent people with migraine from accessing appropriate medical management in Japan.
This analysis of the cross-sectional, population-based, nationwide online survey included adults with migraine. Respondents reported their experiences with prescription and OTC drugs for migraine, migraine-specific drug awareness, and attitude towards migraine. Subgroup analyses were performed based on the number of monthly headache days (MHD) and the frequency of OTC drug use/month.
The 19,590 respondents with migraine (68.8% female; mean [SD] age 40.5 [13.1] years) had mean (SD) 3.5 (5.2) MHDs; 29.0% consulted doctors in the past year for migraine. OTC drug use in the past year was common (≥ 62.1%) regardless of doctor consultation or number of MHDs. Among respondents who answered that they would usually use prescribed drugs when they have a migraine attack, 35.2% reported that they would typically use OTC drugs too. The frequency of OTC drug use was the same or higher than that of prescribed drugs in 51.3% of the respondents who consulted doctors in the past year. Only 14.6% of respondents discussed OTC drugs with doctors during consultations in the past year. Migraine-specific drug access and awareness were limited even among frequent OTC drug users (≥ 10 days/month); 18.2% used triptans, but 65.5% never heard of it. Among 37.1% of respondents who had hesitated to visit a doctor, 'I could handle it myself with OTC medicine' was the most common reason for hesitation (34.9%).
OTC drug use is common among people with migraine; however, it is not frequently discussed with doctors. Many respondents, even those with frequent OTC drug use, did not have access or awareness of migraine-specific drugs. To prevent medication overuse for migraine, the use of OTC drugs should also be discussed and managed.
偏头痛患者可能因多种原因更喜欢使用非处方药（OTC），但其过度使用会导致药物过量使用性头痛。这项对偏头痛流行病学、治疗与护理观察性调查（OVERCOME[日本]）第二项研究的分析描述了日本非处方头痛药物的实际使用情况以及可能阻碍偏头痛患者获得适当医疗管理的挑战。
这项对基于人群的全国性横断面在线调查的分析纳入了成年偏头痛患者。受访者报告了他们使用偏头痛处方药和非处方药的经历、偏头痛特异性药物知晓情况以及对偏头痛的态度。根据每月头痛天数（MHD）和每月非处方药使用频率进行亚组分析。
19590名偏头痛受访者（68.8%为女性；平均[标准差]年龄40.5[13.1]岁）的平均（标准差）MHD为3.5（5.2）天；29.0%的人在过去一年因偏头痛咨询过医生。无论是否咨询过医生或MHD数量多少，过去一年使用非处方药的情况都很常见（≥62.1%）。在回答偏头痛发作时通常会使用处方药的受访者中，35.2%报告他们通常也会使用非处方药。在过去一年咨询过医生的受访者中，51.3%的人非处方药使用频率与处方药相同或更高。在过去一年的咨询中，只有14.6%的受访者与医生讨论过非处方药。即使在频繁使用非处方药（≥每月10天）的人群中，偏头痛特异性药物的可及性和知晓度也有限；18.2%的人使用过曲坦类药物，但65.5%的人从未听说过。在37.1%曾犹豫是否去看医生的受访者中，“我可以用非处方药自己处理”是最常见的犹豫原因（34.9%）。
非处方药在偏头痛患者中使用普遍；然而，它很少与医生讨论。许多受访者，即使是频繁使用非处方药的人，也无法获得偏头痛特异性药物或对其缺乏知晓。为防止偏头痛药物过度使用，也应讨论和管理非处方药的使用。
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