Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although migraine is the second most disabling condition worldwide, there is poor awareness of it.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the awareness of migraine and previous diagnostic and therapeutic consultations and treatments in a large international population of migraineurs.
METHODS: Multicenter study conducted in 12 headache centers in seven countries. Each center recruited up to 100 patients referred for a first visit and diagnosed with migraine. Subjects were given a structured clinical questionnaire-based interview about the perceptions of the type of headache they suffer from, its cause, previous diagnoses, investigations and treatments.
RESULTS: 1161 patients completed the study. Twenty eight percent of participants were aware they suffer from migraine. Sixty-four percent called their migraine "headache", less commonly they used terms such as "cervical pain" (4%), tension headache (3%) and sinusitis (1%). Eight percent of general practisers and 35% of specialists (of which 51% were neurologists and/or headache specialists) consulted for migraine formulated the correct diagnosis. Before participating in the study, 50% of patients had undergone X-ray, CT and/or MRI of the cervical spine and 76% underwent brain and/or cervical spine imaging for migraine. Twenty eight percent of patients had received symptomatic migraine specific medications and 29% at least one migraine preventative medication.
CONCLUSIONS: Although migraine is a very common disease, poor awareness of it amongst patients and physicians is still an issue in several countries. This highlights the importance of promotion of migraine awareness to reduce its burden, limit direct and indirect costs, and the risk of exposure to useless investigations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | European Journal of Neurology |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - Oct 1 2019 |
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Poor patient awareness and frequent misdiagnosis of migraine : findings from a large transcontinental cohort. / Viana, Michele; Khaliq, Farihah; Zecca, Chiara; Figuerola, María De Lourdes; Sances, Grazia; Di Piero, Vittorio; Petolicchio, Barbara; Alessiani, Michele; Geppetti, Pierangelo; Lupi, Chiara; Benemei, Silvia; Iannacchero, Rosario; Maggioni, Ferdinando; Jurno, Mauro Eduardo; Odobescu, Stela; Chiriac, Ecaterina; Marfil, Alejandro; Brighina, Filippo; Barrientos Uribe, Nelson; Pérez Lago, Cristina; Bordini, Carlos; Lucchese, Franco; Maffey, Valerio; Nappi, Giuseppe; Sandrini, Giorgio; Tassorelli, Cristina.
In: European Journal of Neurology, 01.10.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Poor patient awareness and frequent misdiagnosis of migraine
T2 - findings from a large transcontinental cohort
AU - Viana, Michele
AU - Khaliq, Farihah
AU - Zecca, Chiara
AU - Figuerola, María De Lourdes
AU - Sances, Grazia
AU - Di Piero, Vittorio
AU - Petolicchio, Barbara
AU - Alessiani, Michele
AU - Geppetti, Pierangelo
AU - Lupi, Chiara
AU - Benemei, Silvia
AU - Iannacchero, Rosario
AU - Maggioni, Ferdinando
AU - Jurno, Mauro Eduardo
AU - Odobescu, Stela
AU - Chiriac, Ecaterina
AU - Marfil, Alejandro
AU - Brighina, Filippo
AU - Barrientos Uribe, Nelson
AU - Pérez Lago, Cristina
AU - Bordini, Carlos
AU - Lucchese, Franco
AU - Maffey, Valerio
AU - Nappi, Giuseppe
AU - Sandrini, Giorgio
AU - Tassorelli, Cristina
N1 - © 2019 EAN.
PY - 2019/10/1
Y1 - 2019/10/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: Although migraine is the second most disabling condition worldwide, there is poor awareness of it.OBJECTIVES: To assess the awareness of migraine and previous diagnostic and therapeutic consultations and treatments in a large international population of migraineurs.METHODS: Multicenter study conducted in 12 headache centers in seven countries. Each center recruited up to 100 patients referred for a first visit and diagnosed with migraine. Subjects were given a structured clinical questionnaire-based interview about the perceptions of the type of headache they suffer from, its cause, previous diagnoses, investigations and treatments.RESULTS: 1161 patients completed the study. Twenty eight percent of participants were aware they suffer from migraine. Sixty-four percent called their migraine "headache", less commonly they used terms such as "cervical pain" (4%), tension headache (3%) and sinusitis (1%). Eight percent of general practisers and 35% of specialists (of which 51% were neurologists and/or headache specialists) consulted for migraine formulated the correct diagnosis. Before participating in the study, 50% of patients had undergone X-ray, CT and/or MRI of the cervical spine and 76% underwent brain and/or cervical spine imaging for migraine. Twenty eight percent of patients had received symptomatic migraine specific medications and 29% at least one migraine preventative medication.CONCLUSIONS: Although migraine is a very common disease, poor awareness of it amongst patients and physicians is still an issue in several countries. This highlights the importance of promotion of migraine awareness to reduce its burden, limit direct and indirect costs, and the risk of exposure to useless investigations.
AB - BACKGROUND: Although migraine is the second most disabling condition worldwide, there is poor awareness of it.OBJECTIVES: To assess the awareness of migraine and previous diagnostic and therapeutic consultations and treatments in a large international population of migraineurs.METHODS: Multicenter study conducted in 12 headache centers in seven countries. Each center recruited up to 100 patients referred for a first visit and diagnosed with migraine. Subjects were given a structured clinical questionnaire-based interview about the perceptions of the type of headache they suffer from, its cause, previous diagnoses, investigations and treatments.RESULTS: 1161 patients completed the study. Twenty eight percent of participants were aware they suffer from migraine. Sixty-four percent called their migraine "headache", less commonly they used terms such as "cervical pain" (4%), tension headache (3%) and sinusitis (1%). Eight percent of general practisers and 35% of specialists (of which 51% were neurologists and/or headache specialists) consulted for migraine formulated the correct diagnosis. Before participating in the study, 50% of patients had undergone X-ray, CT and/or MRI of the cervical spine and 76% underwent brain and/or cervical spine imaging for migraine. Twenty eight percent of patients had received symptomatic migraine specific medications and 29% at least one migraine preventative medication.CONCLUSIONS: Although migraine is a very common disease, poor awareness of it amongst patients and physicians is still an issue in several countries. This highlights the importance of promotion of migraine awareness to reduce its burden, limit direct and indirect costs, and the risk of exposure to useless investigations.
U2 - 10.1111/ene.14098
DO - 10.1111/ene.14098
M3 - Article
JO - European Journal of Neurology
JF - European Journal of Neurology
SN - 1351-5101
ER -