We conducted the first population-based migraine survey in Taipei, Taiwan,
using a validated questionnaire administered by interviewers during the per
iod from August 1997 to June 1998. Our target population comprised ail indi
viduals (age greater than or equal to 15 years) in 1400 randomly selected h
ouseholds. Migraine diagnoses were made according to the classification cri
teria of migraine without aura proposed by the International Headache Socie
ty, 1988, except that attacks with a duration of between 2 h and 4 h were a
lso included. Of the 4434 eligible subjects in the 1211 respondent househol
ds, 3377 (76%) completed the questionnaire. After adjustment for age and se
x distribution according to the population structure, the prevalence of mig
raine was 9.1% (F/M 14.4%/4.5%). Fifty-four percent of the subjects with mi
graine had consulted a physician about their headaches in the past year. Ho
wever, only 18% of them reported that their migraine had been diagnosed by
physicians. This study found that Taipei residents have the highest migrain
e prevalence of all Chinese populations studied, although it is still in th
e low range of prevalence compared with the results from Western countries.