Women Are Twice as Likely to Have Migraine

PHILADELPHIA—Migraine is common in the United States, with nearly a quarter of patients reporting severe disability and allodynia, according to a review presented at the American Headache Society’s 61st Annual Scientific Meeting.

The review was led and presented by Richard B. Lipton, MD, who is the Edwin S. Lowe Professor and vice chair of neurology, a professor of epidemiology and population health, and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York.

Few studies have examined this incidence in the United States; therefore, Dr Lipton and colleagues assessed the one-year incidence of migraine based on data from the Migraine in America Symptoms and Treatment (MAST) study.

“The annual incidence of migraine in this sample is in-line with prior estimates,” Dr Lipton and colleagues wrote.

For the MAST study, US-based adults were surveyed and screened for migraine. Incident migraine was defined by modified International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd Edition beta criteria and patient-reported headaches that began for the first time in the previous year.

Sociodemographics, monthly headache day frequency, cutaneous allodynia, disability, treatment efficacy, hallmark symptoms of anxiety and depression, and current migraine medication use were also assessed by the MAST study survey.

In all, 40,468 respondents completed the 12-month follow-up assessment and were included in the analysis. Of those who completed the study, 900 respondents (2.2%) met the criteria for incident migraine.

“The existence of a rapidly progressive subgroup is demonstrated by the 2.2% of incident cases meeting criteria for [chronic migraine] within 12 months of onset,” Dr Lipton and colleagues wrote.

Moreover, gender and age played a large role in the results, as Dr Lipton and colleagues point out: “Incidence was twice as high in women [3.1%] than men [1.5%] and highest in the youngest age group. Rates of disability, allodynia, and comorbidity were lower in incident cases versus comparable prevalent samples, suggesting that migraine may worsen over time.”

The researchers also highlight the low incidence of disability and other factors: “In the total sample, just under a quarter (22.9%) reported moderate to severe disability and just over a quarter (25.9%) were allodynic. [Patient-reported] rates of diagnosis, use of acute headache/migraine medications, and treatment optimization were also low, supporting prior findings that obtaining a diagnosis and effective treatment is often delayed,” the research team concluded.

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Lipton RB. One-year incidence of migraine in the us population: results from the Migraine in America Symptoms and Treatment (MAST) study. Paper presented at: American Headache Society 61st Annual Scientific Meeting; July 11-14, 2019; Philadelphia, PA.