Osonuga Ayokunle, Osonuga Adewoyin A, Okoye G C, Osonuga Odusoga A, DaCoasta Adebayo, Osonuga Ayotunde C, DaCosta Demilade
Coltishall Medical Practice, United Kingdom. Email:
Department of Primary Care, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia.
West Afr J Med. 2025 Jan 30;42(1):67-72.
Migraine, a leading cause of global disability, disproportionately burdens low-resource countries like Nigeria, where healthcare inequities, cultural stigma, and infrastructural gaps hinder effective management. Despite global advances in migraine therapeutics, Nigeria's burden remains understudied, with fragmented data on epidemiology, treatment access, and outcomes.
We conducted a narrative review of the literature on migraines in Nigeria using sources such as PubMed, MEDLINE, African Journals Online (AJOL), and Embase. This review synthesizes a broad range of peer-reviewed articles, regional reports, and gray literature to provide an interpretative overview of the topic.
Available evidence suggests that migraine prevalence in Nigeria is estimated at 15-20%, with urban areas reporting rates as high as 26% and a pronounced gender disparity (3:1 female-to-male ratio). Rural regions experience significant underreporting, often attributed to cultural interpretations of migraine symptoms as spiritual phenomena. Most patients rely on over-the-counter analgesics, with 30% developing medication-overuse headaches. Advanced therapies such as triptans and CGRP inhibitors are largely inaccessible due to prohibitive costs.
Nigeria's approach to migraine care lags significantly behind global standards, underscoring the need for context-specific innovations. Priority areas include the expansion of telemedicine to overcome specialist shortages, incentives for local medication production, and the integration of traditional healers into formal referral networks. Policy reforms and collaborative efforts among stakeholders are essential to align Nigeria's migraine management with evidence-based practices, ultimately reducing the burden on individuals and the economy.
偏头痛是导致全球残疾的主要原因，给尼日利亚等资源匮乏的国家带来了 disproportionately 的负担，在这些国家，医疗保健不平等、文化耻辱感和基础设施差距阻碍了有效管理。尽管全球偏头痛治疗取得了进展，但尼日利亚的负担仍未得到充分研究，关于流行病学、治疗可及性和结果的数据零散。
我们使用 PubMed、MEDLINE、非洲期刊在线（AJOL）和 Embase 等来源对尼日利亚偏头痛的文献进行了叙述性综述。本综述综合了广泛的同行评审文章、区域报告和灰色文献，以提供该主题的解释性概述。
现有证据表明，尼日利亚偏头痛的患病率估计为 15% - 20%，城市地区报告的患病率高达 26%，且存在明显的性别差异（女性与男性比例为 3:1）。农村地区报告率明显偏低，这通常归因于将偏头痛症状文化解释为精神现象。大多数患者依赖非处方止痛药，30%的患者出现药物过度使用性头痛。由于成本过高，曲坦类药物和降钙素基因相关肽（CGRP）抑制剂等先进疗法在很大程度上无法获得。
尼日利亚的偏头痛护理方法明显落后于全球标准，凸显了针对具体情况进行创新的必要性。优先领域包括扩大远程医疗以克服专科医生短缺、鼓励当地药物生产以及将传统治疗师纳入正式转诊网络。政策改革和利益相关者之间的合作努力对于使尼日利亚的偏头痛管理与循证实践保持一致至关重要，最终减轻个人和经济负担。
