[Clinical features of migraine according to the questionnaire 'Alcoi-92' in the Comtat area].
BACKGROUND
Headache is one of the commonest reasons for consultation and it might be useful to know its characteristics in order to determine which patients may need medical attention.


OBJECTIVE
To carry out a randomized transverse study in a rural population using the validated questionnaire 'Alcoi-92', and to determine the clinical characteristics of the headaches detected.


METHODS
A door to door survey was done by randomized selection of 790 persons aged over 18 and living in the Comarca del Comtat. A validated self-questionnaire was sent and this was followed by an interview with a doctor.


RESULTS
Five hundred and forty-eight persons were interviewed. The standard prevalence of migraine is 19.6% with a sex incidence of 1:2.4 and an average age of 46.1 years. The average age of onset was 20.64 years. There were family histories of cerebrovascular accidents in 26.4% and of migraine in 57.1%. There were no differences in the use of toxic substances, of socio-economic status or of marital status. The commonest pre-existing pathology was arterial hypertension. The number of episodes of headache was one to seven per year in 50% of those with migraine, with an average duration of 4-24 hours, predominantly bilateral presentation and pulsatile in character with moderate repercussion in everyday activities. The commonest associated symptoms were photophobia and sonophobia. There were prodromal symptoms in 36.9%, most commonly confusion and photopsy.


CONCLUSIONS
The questionnaire 'Alcoi-92' has been shown to be a useful tool for definition of the clinical characteristics of migraine.
Sánchez-Pérez
R
R
Servicio de Neurología, Hospital General Universitario, Alicante, España.
Asensio
M
M
Melchor
A
A
Montiel
I
I
Falip
R
R
Moltó
J M
JM
Matías-Guiu
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires