Headaches are a widespread symptom with over 200 potential causes, ranging from visible conditions like brain tumours to common, invisible ones such as migraine and tension-type headache (TTH). While TTH is more prevalent, migraine is significantly more disabling. Explore the prevalence statistics and key insights into how these conditions affect millions globally in this post.
How Common is Migraine?
Migraine ranks as the third most common disease globally, following dental caries and TTH. Here are some key statistics:
- 12% of the global population
- 15% of women
- 8% of men
- 10% of children
- 25% of Canadian households
- 1-2% live with chronic migraine, a severe form
Prevalence of Other Types of Headaches
- Tension-Type Headache (TTH)
- 30-80% lifetime prevalence
- 20% prevalence at any given time
- Chronic Tension-Type Headache
- 2%
- Persistent Post-Traumatic Headache
- 2 per 1000 people
- Cluster Headache
- 1 per 1000 people
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- 1 per 1000 people
- New Daily Persistent Headache
- 1 per 1000 people
- CSF Leaks
- 1 per 10,000 people
Prevalence of Well-Known Diseases for Comparison
For comparison, here are the prevalences of some other well-known diseases:
- Asthma: 8%
- Diabetes: 7%
- Epilepsy: 1%
- Multiple Sclerosis: 2 per 1000 people
Key Points
- Migraine is a common and disabling condition affecting a significant portion of the population.
- While tension-type headaches are more prevalent, they are less disabling than migraine.
- Understanding the prevalence of different types of headaches and other diseases can help in appreciating the impact of migraine on individuals and society.
References
- Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2018;392(10159):1789-858.
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