title: Medication patterns of recurrent headache sufferers: a community study.
abstract: This community-based telephone survey determined medication patterns of 274 frequent headache sufferers who reported 12 or more headaches a year. Headaches were classified using the International Headache Society's (IHS) criteria. Participants reported on 465 types of headaches: 129 tension headaches, 158 migraine headaches, 8 chronic tension headaches, and 148 headaches which were unclassifiable using IHS criteria. Females (n = 133) reported an average of 1.9 types of headache and males (n = 141) reported 1.5 headache types. Fifty-six percent of respondents used acetaminophen for tension-type and 60% used acetaminophen for migraine. One percent used prescription medication for tension headache and 12% used prescriptions for migraine. The perceived effectiveness of over-the-counter medication was approximately 7 on a scale of 0-10 for tension headaches and 6 for migraine. Both tension-headache and migraine-headache sufferers waited about 1 h before taking any medication. Tension-headache sufferers waited until the headache was above 5 on a 0 to 10 scale (4.6 for migraine). It is possible that more aggressive use of medication might improve headache management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Forward
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: MacKinnon
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Swann
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Currie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009674:Nova Scotia / Q000453:epidemiology; D018781:Tension-Type Headache / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs