title: The International Burden of Migraine Study (IBMS): study design, methodology, and baseline cohort characteristics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe a survey methodology to evaluate headache characteristics and burden and to present baseline characteristics for the international cohort of survey participants.
  
  
  METHODS
  A targeted, web-based methodology was used to recruit and survey subjects with migraine in 10 countries. Based on reported symptoms, subjects meeting ICHD-2 criteria for migraine were included; eligible subjects were classified as chronic (≥ 15 headache days per month) or episodic (< 15 headache days per month). Outcomes included sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, resource utilization, disability, health-related quality of life, anxiety, depression and productivity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 23,312 survey respondents, 11,897 were eligible and 9715 (81.7%) completed the survey; subjects were 81.5% female; 5.7% (n = 555) had chronic migraine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first large international cohort of persons with chronic and episodic migraine studied using a web-based approach, a methodology well suited to the study of the burden of migraines.
authors.affiliation: United BioSource Corporation, Canada. krista.payne@unitedbiosource.com
authors.forename: Krista A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.forename: Sepideh F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Varon
authors.forename: Ariane K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Kawata
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yeomans
authors.forename: Teresa K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Wilcox
authors.forename: Aubrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manack
authors.forename: Dawn C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Buse
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lipton
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Goadsby
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Blumenfeld
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012107:Research Design; D055815:Young Adult