调查报告表明：许多偏头痛患者治疗不够
NEW YORK, Sep 20 (Reuters Health) - The proportion of migraine sufferers remained stable in the past decade, according to the results of a new national headache survey. However, doctors say many of the 28 million US migraine sufferers are still being undertreated for their disabling headaches.
"The prevalence of who has migraine headaches has stayed really the same," lead author Dr. Richard B. Lipton, professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, told Reuters Health. "However, we found that the majority of migraine suffers were still treating their headaches with over-the-counter medicines--to the exclusion of prescription medicines."
, 百拇医药
The researchers conducted a nationally representative survey of 20,000 US households to examine the prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of migraine headaches. The researchers hoped to update findings from the last such national survey, the American Migraine Study, conducted in 1989 and published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in 1992.
Migraine headaches are especially disabling headaches that usually occur on one side of the head, last 4 to 72 hours, and cause symptoms such as sensitivity to light and nausea. Since the first survey was conducted, new medications that can cut short a migraine attack have entered the market.
, 百拇医药
The research was funded by grants to the National Headache Foundation from Glaxo Wellcome, makers of the popular migraine drug Imitrex. The results were published in the July/August issue of the journal Headache.
The researchers reported that the proportion of migraine sufferers seems to have remained the same in the past decade, with about 13% of Americans over age 12 suffering migraine headaches, as defined by the International Headache Society. However, due to the increase in population over the past decade, there are now 27.9 million migraine sufferers as opposed to 23.6 million in 1989.
, http://www.100md.com
The research found that the proportion of men and women experiencing migraines remained largely the same, with women still three times as likely as men to have migraine headaches. The new survey found that 18% of women and 6.5% of men reported migraine headaches.
The proportion of patients seeing a doctor for their migraines increased, with 48% of those with migraine headaches obtaining physician diagnoses in 1999 compared to 38% in the previous survey.
, 百拇医药
"The proportion of patients with migraines who had talked to a doctor has gone up enormously, reflecting the fact that headache sufferers perceive there are more effective medications available," Lipton said.
However, the research also showed that compared to a decade ago, the same proportion of headache sufferers--a little more than half--were still using over-the-counter pain medications to treat their migraines, while 41% were now using prescription medications, up from 37%.
, 百拇医药
"In spite of all the advances in migraine therapy, getting treatment hasn't increased substantially," said Dr. Seymour Diamond, head of the Diamond Headache Center in Chicago, Illinois, and executive chairman of the National Headache Foundation.
Diamond added that he had expected more migraine sufferers would have taken advantage of new prescription drugs for migraine. Instead, he noted, use of over-the-counter medicines has grown more rapidly than use of prescription drugs among migraine sufferers.
"For some people, over-the-counter medicines are appropriate therapy," Lipton noted. "But if you're taking over-the-counter medicines and headaches are still getting in your way, that's a reason to see a doctor."
Exception:java.sql.SQLException: Connection has already been closed., http://www.100md.com
"The prevalence of who has migraine headaches has stayed really the same," lead author Dr. Richard B. Lipton, professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, told Reuters Health. "However, we found that the majority of migraine suffers were still treating their headaches with over-the-counter medicines--to the exclusion of prescription medicines."
, 百拇医药
The researchers conducted a nationally representative survey of 20,000 US households to examine the prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of migraine headaches. The researchers hoped to update findings from the last such national survey, the American Migraine Study, conducted in 1989 and published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in 1992.
Migraine headaches are especially disabling headaches that usually occur on one side of the head, last 4 to 72 hours, and cause symptoms such as sensitivity to light and nausea. Since the first survey was conducted, new medications that can cut short a migraine attack have entered the market.
, 百拇医药
The research was funded by grants to the National Headache Foundation from Glaxo Wellcome, makers of the popular migraine drug Imitrex. The results were published in the July/August issue of the journal Headache.
The researchers reported that the proportion of migraine sufferers seems to have remained the same in the past decade, with about 13% of Americans over age 12 suffering migraine headaches, as defined by the International Headache Society. However, due to the increase in population over the past decade, there are now 27.9 million migraine sufferers as opposed to 23.6 million in 1989.
, http://www.100md.com
The research found that the proportion of men and women experiencing migraines remained largely the same, with women still three times as likely as men to have migraine headaches. The new survey found that 18% of women and 6.5% of men reported migraine headaches.
The proportion of patients seeing a doctor for their migraines increased, with 48% of those with migraine headaches obtaining physician diagnoses in 1999 compared to 38% in the previous survey.
, 百拇医药
"The proportion of patients with migraines who had talked to a doctor has gone up enormously, reflecting the fact that headache sufferers perceive there are more effective medications available," Lipton said.
However, the research also showed that compared to a decade ago, the same proportion of headache sufferers--a little more than half--were still using over-the-counter pain medications to treat their migraines, while 41% were now using prescription medications, up from 37%.
, 百拇医药
"In spite of all the advances in migraine therapy, getting treatment hasn't increased substantially," said Dr. Seymour Diamond, head of the Diamond Headache Center in Chicago, Illinois, and executive chairman of the National Headache Foundation.
Diamond added that he had expected more migraine sufferers would have taken advantage of new prescription drugs for migraine. Instead, he noted, use of over-the-counter medicines has grown more rapidly than use of prescription drugs among migraine sufferers.
"For some people, over-the-counter medicines are appropriate therapy," Lipton noted. "But if you're taking over-the-counter medicines and headaches are still getting in your way, that's a reason to see a doctor."
Exception:java.sql.SQLException: Connection has already been closed., http://www.100md.com