Use of health care services in childhood migraine.
The use of health care services in childhood migraine was studied in a representative population sample of 53 children with migraine. These children belong to a 1-year age cohort that has been followed since birth. Migraine was diagnosed at the age of 8 to 9 years according to the International Headache Society criteria of migraine in 95 of 3580 children (2.7%). At the time of the present study, 84 of the 95 children were clinically examined at the age of 11 to 13 years. Fifty-three of them (62.4%) still had migraine and 32 did not. Of these 53 children, 31 (51.8%) had consulted a doctor because of headache. The most important factors linked to the consultation rate were aura symptoms and maximal frequency of attacks. The children who had consulted a doctor more often had nausea and more often came from densely populated areas. They had missed school days more often because of headache than those who had not consulted a doctor.
Metsähonkala
L
L
Department of Child Neurology, Turku University Hospital, Finland.
Sillanpää
M
M
Tuominen
J
J
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors