Prevalence and clinical characteristics of migraine in France.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence and clinical features of migraine and related headache types in France.


METHODS
The authors recruited a population of subjects with headache representative of the national population using a stratified sampling method. They screened 10,585 subjects aged 15 and older who were representative of the general population. They identified 1,486 of these as having headaches, and these subjects were subsequently interviewed for information on clinical features, natural history, and functional impact of headache. The authors categorized subjects based on the International Headache Society (IHS) classification and assessed disability using the MIDAS questionnaire.


RESULTS
The authors found a standardized prevalence for migraine (IHS categories 1.1 and 1.2) of 7.9% (11.2% for women and 4.0% for men) and 9.1% for migrainous disorder (IHS category 1.7). Migraine attacks were associated with a considerable degree of handicap in activities of daily living, with a MIDAS grade distribution of 74.7% (grade 1), 13.3% (grade 2), 7.7% (grade 3), and 4.3% (grade 4). The prevalence of migraine with MIDAS grade 3 or 4 was 1.6%.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of migraine (IHS categories 1.1 and 1.2) in France is 7.9%, and that of total migraine is 17.0%; this does not seem to have evolved over the past 10 years.
Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Pellegrin-Tripode, Bordeaux, France. patrick.henry@chu-bordeaux.fr
P
P
Henry
J P
JP
Auray
A F
AF
Gaudin
J F
JF
Dartigues
G
G
Duru
M
M
Lantéri-Minet
C
C
Lucas
A
A
Pradalier
G
G
Chazot
A
A
El Hasnaoui
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D015985:Precipitating Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution