Another good news for the team of the Observatory of Pain. The famous International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health has published our report ‘Prevalence of Migraine in General Spanish Population; factors related and use of Health Resources’.
This is a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out by Alejandro Salazar, Laura Berrocal, and Inmaculada Failde about migraine, a neurological disorder considered the second most disabling condition in the world.
In order to know the prevalence of this disease in the general Spanish adult population, its health resources use and related factors, a sample of 23,089 people over 15 years of age was selected from the Spanish Health Survey of 2017 and sociodemographic, clinical and use of health resources data were collected.
Risk factors: being a woman, having work stress and poorer mental health
The study shows that the prevalence of diagnosed migraine in the general Spanish population is 8.6% and almost 1% of the population has undiagnosed migraine. In addition, women have almost three times more risk of havnig migraine than men.
It should also be noted that, in patients with diagnosed migraine, the use of health services was more common than in those without migraine in terms of medical consultations, complementary tests, use of emergency services, and hospital admissions.
On the other hand, according to the data obtained, having poorer mental health and a higher level of work stress were associated with both diagnosed and undiagnosed migraine.
Better monitoring and management of the illness is needed
The results of the study show that the prevalence of migraine in the general Spanish population is high as well as that it implies a high use of health services.
Therefore, better monitoring and management of the illness and control of the most vulnerable people seems to be necessary to improve the quality of life of migraine sufferers and to reduce costs in the health system.
