Disability, physician consultation, and use of prescription medications in a population-based study of headache.
In a population-based telephone interview survey of 9,380 residents aged 12 to 29 yr in Washington County, Maryland, who reported having had a headache, 60% of females and 41% of males had had one or more headaches during the previous week; 14.4% of females and 6.0% of males in the study group had consulted a physician in the previous 12 months for a headache problem. The likelihood of consulting a physician differed according to the type of headache. Subjects with headache during the week before the interview meeting the criteria for certain migraine or certain mixed tension--migraine were twice as likely as subjects with all other types of headaches to consult a physician during the previous 12 months. Females with tension headache were considerably more likely than males with the tension headache to have consulted a physician during the previous 12 months. On the other hand, males with migraine headache during the previous week were more likely than females with migraine to consult a physician. Disability (defined as being absent from school or from work for all or part of the day) was relatively common among those subjects with a headache during the previous week (13.7% of females and 7.9% of males). However, even among those reporting disability as a result of their headache during the previous week, only 31% of females and 18% of males reported consulting a physician during the previous 12 months.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Stewart
W F
WF
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD.
Celentano
D D
DD
Linet
M S
MS
D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011897:Random Allocation; D012737:Sex Factors