Time trends of major headache diagnoses and predictive factors. Data from three Nord-Trøndelag health surveys

Abstract

Aims:The primary aim of this study was to investigate time trends of major headache diagnoses using crosssectional data from two population-based health surveys. In addition, we aimed to perform a longitudinal assessment of baseline characteristics and subsequent risk for having headache at 22-years' follow-up among those participating in three health surveys.Methods: were used. The 1-year prevalence time trends of major headache diagnoses were estimated among 41,460 participants in HUNT4 and among 39,697 participants in HUNT3, two surveys with identical headache questions. 16,118 persons participated in all three surveys, and among these, a Poisson regression was used to evaluate health-related baseline information in HUNT2 and the risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence interval (CIs) of consistently reporting headache during follow-up.Results: Compared with the 1-year prevalence in HUNT3, a higher proportion of participants in HUNT4 had tension-type headache (20.7% vs. 15.9%, p < 0.001), whereas a lower 1-year prevalence was found for migraine (11.1% vs. 12.0%, p < 0.001) and medication overuse headache (MOH) (0.3% vs. 1.0%, p < 0.001). Participants in the age group 20-39 years at baseline nearly three times increased risk (RR = 2.8, 95% CI 2.5-3.1) of reporting headache in HUNT2, HUNT3 and HUNT4 than persons aged 50 years or more. Female sex, occurrence of chronic musculoskeletal complaints and high score of depression or anxiety at baseline doubled the risk of having headache in all three surveys. Conclusions: The 1-year prevalence of migraine and MOH was lower in HUNT4 than in HUNT3. Young age, female sex, and occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints and high score of anxiety and/or depression were all associated with substantially increased risk of reporting headache in all three surveys.

High sensitivity C-reactive protein and risk of migraine in a 11-year follow-up with data from the Nord-Trøndelag health surveys 2006–2008 and 2017–2019

“…The reason for the much lower incidence of migraine in the present study is unclear. However, it may in part be explained by the difference in age of population at risk, being 25-64 years in the Danish study and 20-90 years in the present study, and partly because the prevalence of migraine in Denmark increased from 11% to 15% from 1989 to 2001 [17], whereas the corresponding prevalence decreased from 12.0% to 11.1% from HUNT3 to HUNT4 [6].…”

“…We have previously reported the validity of the questionnaire-based headache diagnoses in HUNT3 [9], and HUNT4 [10]. Merged data of HUNT3 (n = 293) and HUNT4 (n = 232) gave the following results: for migraine, the sensitivity was 54% and specificity 95% (kappa value 0.52, 95% CI 0.47-0.57) and for migraine with aura, the sensitivity was 39% and specificity 95% (kappa value 0.34, 95% CI 0.30-0.38) [6]. For chronic headache (headache ≥15 days/month, included chronic migraine, chronic tension-type headache and medication overuse headache), the sensitivity was 58% and specificity 99% (kappa value 0.62, 95% CI 0.50-0.74).…”

“…The present study included data from the two last HUNT surveys conducted in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway, in 2006-2008 (HUNT3) [5], and in 2017-2019 (HUNT4) [6]. The entire population of the Nord-Trøndelag County aged 20 years of age or more was invited to answer many health-related items in two different questionnaires (Q1 and Q2), including questions about headache, and also a clinical examination, including measurement of weight, height and blood pressure, and blood samples were also taken [5,6].…”

“…1). Headache diagnoses HUNT3 and HUNT4 had 14 identical headache questions [6]. The initial screening question was "Have you suffered from headache during the last 12 months?…”

“…Migraine with aura was diagnosed in those who fulfilled the migraine criteria and answered "yes" to the question "Are the headaches usually characterized by or accompanied by visual disturbance before or during onset (zigzag lines, flickering/flashing light, blurred vision). Chronic migraine was diagnosed in those who fulfilled the criteria of migraine and reported headache ≥15 days/month [6].…”