Overview of hospital admissions for migraine and other cephalic pain syndromes in Brazil and regions, 2015 to 2019

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Headache is defined as a pain in the cephalic segment, and is the fourth cause of demand for emergency care. In Brazil, 98% of women and 95% of men will suffer some episode during their lives. It causes physical, social, labor, and economic damage, and is the third leading cause of years lived with disability. Thus, it is relevant to investigate hospital admissions for migraine and other cephalic pain syndromes. OBJECTIVES: To analyze hospital morbidity due to migraine and other cephalic pain syndromes in Brazil between 2015 and 2019. METHODS: Epidemiological, retrospective, descriptive study, carried out through the Hospital Information System (DATASUS). Variables: sex, ethnicity, age, hospital stay, costs and deaths. RESULTS: Registered 49,508 hospitalizations for migraine and other cephalic pain syndromes from 2015-2019; predominantly women (65.7%), between 20-39 years (37.3%), 40-59 years (29.4%), which occurred mainly in the Southeast (33.1%) and South (23.6%) regions. The average cost per hospitalization was R$ 421.50. The mean hospital stay was 3.9 days, ranging from 3.1 days in the South to 4.8 days in the Northeast, with no differences between genders. There were 384 deaths, of which 56.3% were women. CONCLUSION: The morbidity profile due to cephalic pain syndromes is composed of women, aged 20-39 years, living in the Southeast region. It is important to intensify investments in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, seeking to reduce hospitalizations, the impact on the health system and to improve the patient’s quality of life.