PREVALENCE OF HEADACHES IN A CHINESE ELDERLY POPULATION IN KINMEN - AGE AND GENDER EFFECT AND CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISONS

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of headaches in a Chinese eld erly population. Background: There are few headache surveys in the eld erly. Previous studies have shown a low headache prevalence in Chinese . Methods: Target population: eligible registered residents greater th an or equal to 65 years old (N = 2,003) in two townships of Kinmen Isl and on August 1, 1993, All participants completed a headache questionn aire and underwent clinical evaluation and examination by a neurologis t. Headache diagnoses were made according to the International Headach e Society, 1988. Results: 1,533 persons (77%) participated in the stud y, of whom 584 (38%) had at least one episode of headache in the previ ous year. One-year prevalence of migraine was 3.0%, and tension-type h eadache, 35%. The prevalence of migraine, but not tension-type headach es, continued to decline with age in the elderly. Life-time prevalence of ''incapacitating headache'' was 10%, and that of migraine, 5.2%. F orty-two percent of migraineurs stopped having migraine before this su rvey. In comparison with ''10 years ago,'' 8% participants felt their current headaches were worse, 25% better, and 67%, no change, with a n et improvement of 17%. Conclusions: We have reported the highest heada che prevalence among different Chinese elderly populations, but these were still lower than those reported from Western series. More than ha lf of the elderly life-time migraineurs still had attacks of migraine. Severe headaches, including migraine but not tension-type headaches, declined with age.