If you often have headaches, you are certainly not alone. A new study reveals the shocking number of people who suffer from headaches both yearly and daily.

Headaches are known to be one of the most common ailments worldwide. But exactly how many people suffer from it? That wasn’t quite clear yet. However, a new research group has carefully mapped the number of people who suffer from headaches. And their studies now reveals the straight numbers.

Study

The researchers looked at 357 scientific studies published between 1961 and 2020. Most of these studies involved adults between the ages of 20 and 65.

A billion people

The analysis shows that an alarming number of people are affected by headaches. For example, it appears that more than half of the world’s population suffers from headaches every year. On any given day, that’s 15.8 percent of the world’s population. In other words, more than a billion people have headaches today.

Various headaches

The headaches range from harmless headaches to severe migraines. “Not everyone is seriously affected,” researchers Lars Stovner told Scientias.nl from. “But there are certainly people among them who often suffer from it. It turns out that five percent have a headache more than 15 days a month.” In addition, 26 percent report that they suffer from tension headaches and 14 percent suffer from migraines. “That last group is in pretty bad shape,” Stovner says. “They are quite disabled for some of their time.”

Tension headaches and migraines
Tension headaches are headaches often attributed to excessive tension in facial and/or neck muscles. It is the most common type of headache. Tension headaches feel like a pinching pain on the sides of the head. Compared to tension headaches, migraines are much more serious in nature. Migraine is an attack of headache, which can sometimes last for several days. The pain is throbbing, usually on one side of the head. Often there is also nausea and vomiting. Shortly before the attack, glare, flashes or wavy images are sometimes seen.

In addition, the findings show that women are more likely to have headaches than men. Women in particular are more prone to migraines, the researchers show. About 17 percent of women are affected by migraines, compared to 8.6 percent of men. Women are also more likely to suffer from headaches that occur more than 15 days a month (6 percent of women versus 2.9 percent of men). What is the reason for this difference between the sexes? “Female sex hormones play a big role,” Stovner explains. “And especially fluctuations in oestrogens.”

Increase?

The team also studied whether the number of people who suffer from headaches has increased over the years. However, a conclusive conclusion on this has not yet been reached. “Compared to our previous report and global estimates, the data suggests that the number of people with headaches and migraines may have increased,” Stovner said. “But we’re not sure, because the apparent increase could also be caused by better diagnostic questionnaires, which is why more headache patients are surfacing these days. What is clear is that headaches are a common problem and are very annoying for many.”

Very often

The results show conclusively that headaches are very common worldwide. A pressing question is why so many people experience headaches. “Somehow it’s part of life,” Stovner says when asked. “However, that’s not the same as saying we can’t do anything about it. There are several ways we can improve the situation, both through behavioral changes, as well as through medical and non-medical treatments.”

Causes

According to Stovner, headaches can have many causes. “But factors such as high levels of stress, irregular sleep and meals, dehydration, too bright light and noise, lack of exercise, obesity and excessive intake of painkillers all make it worse,” he says. So if you often suffer from headaches, it can help to at least take these factors into account. “And see your doctor,” Stovner underlines. “Try to get a diagnosis of the headache and seek advice on (preventive) treatments.”

The researchers conclude that the study provides a new baseline. “Future research could build on this,” the researchers write. “For example, by developing methods that measure the success of interventions and treatments.” According to Stovner, it is also very important that we take headaches seriously. “Headaches and migraines are a huge public health problem,” he says. “It should therefore be acted upon as such by physicians and decision-makers.”