title: Sociodemographic characteristics of a cohort of patients with chronic migraine from a health district in Asturias.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic migraine (CM), with or without medication overuse, is a common condition in the general population. It has traditionally been assumed that suffering CM has an impact on a patient's socio-occupational and educational level. Our goal was to analyse these characteristics in a cohort of patients with CM and compare them to the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a telephone interview and an ad hoc questionnaire to record and analyse the sociodemographic characteristics of 150 patients with a diagnosis of CM according to the criteria of the International Headache Classification. Results were compared to those obtained by the Third Health Survey of Asturias, conducted in 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 150 patients, 142 were women (95%). Married patients accounted for 59.3% of the total interviewees, while 22% were single, 12.6% divorced, and 6% were widowed. Regarding educational level, we found that 73% of our patients had completed secondary or higher education and 25% had completed only primary education. Sixty per cent of these patients are occupationally active, while the rest are not actively employed. Overall, these figures do not differ from those published by the Third Health Survey of Asturias.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The classic idea that CM has a negative impact on patients' educational, personal, and occupational situations was not confirmed in our series. In fact, most patients with CM reported a medium-high educational level and a good socio-occupational status. However, since our series includes only CM patients attended in a specialist clinic, our results are not necessarily applicable to all patients with CM.
authors: Área de Neurociencias, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias e Ineuropa, Oviedo, Asturias. Electronic address: C.garciacabo@gmail.com.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: García-Cabo Fernández
authors: Área de Neurociencias, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias e Ineuropa, Oviedo, Asturias.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Sánchez-Lozano
authors: Área de Neurociencias, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias e Ineuropa, Oviedo, Asturias.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Pérez-Álvarez
authors: Área de Neurociencias, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias e Ineuropa, Oviedo, Asturias.
authors: J M
authors: JM
authors: Martínez-Ramos
authors: Área de Neurociencias, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias e Ineuropa, Oviedo, Asturias.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Martínez-Rodríguez
authors: Área de Neurociencias, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias e Ineuropa, Oviedo, Asturias.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Pascual
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chronic migraine; Datos sociodemográficos; Demographic data; Educational level; Episodic migraine; ICHD-IIIβ; International classification of headache disorders-III beta; Migraña crónica; Migraña episódica; Nivel educacional; Occupational status; Situación laboral