Published in:
01-06-2010 | Oral Communication
Population-based pace study: lifetime and past-year prevalence of headache in adults
Authors:
Paola Torelli, G. Abrignani, L. Berzieri, P. Castellini, T. Ferrante, G. Lambru, L. Latte, M. Russo, S. Zani, G. C. Manzoni
Published in:
Neurological Sciences
|
Special Issue 1/2010
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Abstract
Primary headache prevalence in the adult Italian general population has been little studied so far. This is an observational, cross-sectional, population-based study conducted in a subject sample that was representative of the city of Parma’s general population ≥age 18. The lifetime prevalence of headache was 69.1%, i.e. 75.8% in women and 60.6% in men; the past-year prevalence of headache was 42.8%, i.e. 52.0% in women and 31.1% in men. Most people suffer from one headache subtype. Headache past-year prevalence decreases with age, both in men and in women. After 60, the likelihood of suffering from headache is low. In more than 80% of cases, headache starts before age 40 and, therefore, it is not very likely for people to develop headache at an advanced age (>50 years). This is the first population-based study conducted in Italy on a sample aged ≥18 since the publication of the IHS diagnostic criteria in 1988.