A descriptive study of migraine in a rural population of Area del Comtat

Introduction. Headache is one of the commonest causes of consultation in neurology. There are many studies of the prevalence of migraine showing considerable variation in the results obtained. Objectives. To find the prevalence of migraine, with and without an aura, by means of a randomized transverse study carried Out in a previously selected rural population, using the validated questionnaire 'Alcoi-92'. To find the overall prevalence of migraine, specifically regarding age and sex and adjusted for the European population. Patients and methods. A door-to-door study was made by random selection of 790 persons aged over 18, in three towns in the comarca del Comtat, Alacant, Spain. A self-questionnaire was sent to all persons studies and subsequently they were seen by a medical interviewer. Results. We interviewed 548 persons (over all response rate 78%). The average age was 52.5 +/- 19.3 years. Sex distribution of the population interviewed showed a predominance of females (52.9%) as compared to males (47.1%). According to the type of headache. other types of headache 62.32%, pel sons with no previous history of headache 20.07%, amplified migraine 16.6%, typical migraine 12.6% cluster type migraine 0.18%. Conclusions. The overall prevalence of amplified migraine was 16.6% According to diagnostic groups the frequency of migraine with aura was 2.9% migraine without aura 9.7% and typical migraine 12.6%. A predominance of women was seen in all types of migraine. The frequency of migraine, adjusted for the European population was 19.6% Prevalence during the past year as a measure of activity of the disorder was 15.7%.