Period prevalence of self-reported headache in the general population in Germany from 1995–2005 and 2009: results from annual nationwide population-based cross-sectional surveys

• Published in: Journal of headache and pain Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 11
• Main Authors: Straube, Andreas, Aicher, Bernhard, Förderreuther, Steffanie, Eggert, Thomas, Köppel, Janin, Möller, Stefan, Schneider, Roland, Haag, Gunther
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Milan Springer Milan 14.02.2013; Springer Nature B.V; BioMed Central Ltd; Springer
• Subjects: Adult; Age Distribution; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Germany - epidemiology; Headache - epidemiology; Headaches; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neurology; Pain Medicine; Polls & surveys; Population biology; Prevalence; Research Article; Self Report; Sex Distribution; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Germany; Headache; Prevalence; Education; Income; General population; Gender; Epidemiology; Age
• ISSN: 1129-2369; 1129-2377; 1129-2377
• DOI: 10.1186/1129-2377-14-11

Background Although primary headache is the most frequent neurological disorder and there is some evidence that the prevalence rates have increased in recent years, no long-term data on the annual prevalence of headache are available for Germany. The objective of the study was therefore to obtain long-term data on the period prevalence of headache in the general population in Germany by means of population-based cross-sectional annual surveys (1995–2005 and 2009). Methods These surveys were conducted as face-to-face paper-and-pencil interviews from 1995 through 2004, and from 2005 onwards as computer-aided personal interviews. The reported headaches were self-diagnosed by the interviewees. Per year, approximately 640 trained interviewers interviewed between 10,898 and 12,538 German-speaking individuals aged 14 and older and living in private households in the whole of Germany (response rate: 67.4% and 73.1%, gross samples: 16,026 to 18,176 subjects). A total of more than 146,000 face-to-face interviews were analyzed. Results The one-year headache prevalence remained stable over the entry period, with 58.9% (95%CI 57.7–60.1) to 62.5% (95%CI 61.3–63.7) (p=0.07). Women showed consistently higher prevalence rates than men (females: 67.3 (95%CI 65.7–68.9) to 70.7% (95%CI 69.1–72.3), males: 48.4% (95%CI 46.5–50.3) to 54.3% (95%CI 52.4–56.2)), and both sexes showed a bell-shaped age dependence with peaks in the 30–39 age group. A stable slightly higher prevalence was observed in urban versus rural areas (p<0.0001), and there was also a significant trend towards higher prevalence rates in groups with a monthly household income larger than 3,500 € (p=0.03). Conclusion The overall headache prevalence remained stable in Germany in the last 15 years.