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- Title
Medication patterns of recurrent headache sufferers: a community study.
- Authors
Forward, SP; McGrath, PJ; MacKinnon, D; Brown, TL; Swann, J; Currie, EL; Forward, S P; McGrath, P J; Brown, T L; Currie, E L
- Abstract
This community-based telephone survey determined medication patterns of 274 frequent headache sufferers who reported 12 or more headaches a year. Headaches were classified using the International Headache Society's (IHS) criteria. Participants reported on 465 types of headaches: 129 tension headaches, 158 migraine headaches, 8 chronic tension headaches, and 148 headaches which were unclassifiable using IHS criteria. Females (n = 133) reported an average of 1.9 types of headache and males (n = 141) reported 1.5 headache types. Fifty-six percent of respondents used acetaminophen for tension-type and 60% used acetaminophen for migraine. One percent used prescription medication for tension headache and 12% used prescriptions for migraine. The perceived effectiveness of over-the-counter medication was approximately 7 on a scale of 0-10 for tension headaches and 6 for migraine. Both tension-headache and migraine-headache sufferers waited about 1 h before taking any medication. Tension-headache sufferers waited until the headache was above 5 on a 0 to 10 scale (4.6 for migraine). It is possible that more aggressive use of medication might improve headache management.
- Subjects
NOVA Scotia; HEADACHE treatment; SOCIAL surveys; ACETAMINOPHEN; ANALGESICS; NONPRESCRIPTION drugs; COMPARATIVE studies; DRUG utilization; DRUG administration; DOSE-effect relationship in pharmacology; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL cooperation; MIGRAINE; RESEARCH; TENSION headache; EVALUATION research; TREATMENT effectiveness; THERAPEUTICS
- Publication
Cephalalgia, 1998, Vol 18, Issue 3, p146
- ISSN
0333-1024
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1046/j.1468-2982.1998.1803146.x