MIGRAINE AND TENSION-TYPE HEADACHES

Objectives: There is little information on headache syndromes in diffe rent communities in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study is to determin e the prevalence of migraine and tension-type headaches in 5 small com munities in the Al-Qassim region. Methods: Community based door-to-doo r survey involving the administration of a structured questionnaire wi th additional neurological examination. Classification of headache was made according to the IHS criteria. Subjects with single episodes wer e excluded. Results: Out of the 10,267 individuals screened, 495 had m igraine and tension-type headache giving a crude prevalence of 4.82% ( 95% CI = 3.8-5.8%). With standardization, the rate increased to 5.5% ( 95% CI = 5.1 - 5.9%). The female sex-specific prevalence was 6.1% (95% CI = 5.5-6.8%), and for males it was 3.4% (95% CI 2.8-4.0%). The prev alence rates of migraine and tension-type headache was 2.45% (95% CI = 2.2-2.74%) and 2.37% (95% CI = 2.07-2.66%) respectively. Conclusion: The low headache prevalence was ascribed to cultural factors and the r elatively young population. Studies in other communities in the Kingdo m are indicated for confirming our results as well as assessing the ro le of stress and traditional lifestyles.