title: Population-based pace study: lifetime and past-year prevalence of headache in adults.
abstract: Primary headache prevalence in the adult Italian general population has been little studied so far. This is an observational, cross-sectional, population-based study conducted in a subject sample that was representative of the city of Parma's general population >or=age 18. The lifetime prevalence of headache was 69.1%, i.e. 75.8% in women and 60.6% in men; the past-year prevalence of headache was 42.8%, i.e. 52.0% in women and 31.1% in men. Most people suffer from one headache subtype. Headache past-year prevalence decreases with age, both in men and in women. After 60, the likelihood of suffering from headache is low. In more than 80% of cases, headache starts before age 40 and, therefore, it is not very likely for people to develop headache at an advanced age (>50 years). This is the first population-based study conducted in Italy on a sample aged >or=18 since the publication of the IHS diagnostic criteria in 1988.
authors.affiliation: Headache Centre, Department of Neuroscience, University of Parma, c/o Ospedale Maggiore, Via Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy. paola.torelli1@unipr.it
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Torelli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abrignani
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berzieri
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castellini
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ferrante
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lambru
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Latte
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zani
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Manzoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D020773:Headache Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
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