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Epidemiology of Headache Disorders in the A sia‐ P acific Region
Author(s) -
Peng KuanPo,
Wang ShuuJiun
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
headache: the journal of head and face pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.14
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1526-4610
pISSN - 0017-8748
DOI - 10.1111/head.12328
Subject(s) - migraine , epidemiology , medicine , headache disorders , population , pediatrics , public health , international classification of headache disorders , demography , psychiatry , environmental health , pathology , sociology
Headache disorder is a major public health issue and is a great burden for the person, the health care system, and society. This article reviews epidemiological surveys of primary headache disorders including migraine and tension‐type headache ( TTH ) among adults in the A sia‐ P acific region using the I nternational C lassification of H eadache D isorders ( ICHD ), first or second edition. Chronic daily headache ( CDH ), which is not an official diagnosis in the ICHD , was also reviewed. In the A sia‐ P acific region, the median (range) 1‐year prevalence of primary headache disorders was 9.1% (1.5‐22.8%) for migraine, 16.2% (10.8‐33.8%) for TTH , and 2.9% (1.0‐3.9%) for CDH . The 1‐year prevalence of migraine and TTH were rather consistent; however, the extremes in the 1‐year prevalence of migraine in earlier studies from H ong K ong (1.5%) and S outh K orea (22.3%) were not repeated in later surveys ( H ong K ong: 12.5%; S outh K orea: 6%). According to the U nited N ations, the estimated population of the A sia‐ P acific region was 3.85 billion in 2010, equaling to headache suffers of 350 million patients with migraine, 624 million with TTH , and 112 million with CDH ; many remain to be treated. The prevalence of headache disorders has remained stable over the last 2 decades in this region, where the diversity of geography, race, and development is wide. Thus, the pursuit of better headache care in this region might be our next challenge.