According to researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), more than half the world’s population suffers from headaches.
According to the results of the study, women are more affected by headaches and migraines than men.
One in six people in the world suffers from headaches every day
Do you suffer from headaches? You’re not alone!
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have just demonstrated that 52% of the world’s population suffers from headaches at least once a year. To arrive at this finding, the researchers compiled over 357 studies on the subject between 1961 and 2020.
Published in the Journal of Headache and Pain on April 12, the results of the study reveal that 26% describe a tension headache (characterized by pressure or tightness in the head), 14% suffer from migraine and 4.6% have recurrent headaches at least 15 days a month.
Every day, more than 15% of the world’s population suffers from headaches – that’s one person in six.
Women suffer more headaches than men
The Norwegian study also reveals that headaches (particularly migraines) are more frequent in women than in men.
In fact, 57.8% of women report suffering from migraine at least once a year, compared with 44.4% of men. Every month for 15 days, 6% of women suffer from headaches, compared with 2.9% of men.
According to Lars Jacob Stovner, Professor of Neurology at NTNU, « it probably has to do with female sex hormones, and in particular estrogen fluctuations « .
Are headaches more frequent than they used to be?
While the researchers report that headaches are widespread throughout the world, they also wondered whether they had gained ground since 1961.
While estimates tend to show that more and more people worldwide are suffering from headaches, researchers are wary of jumping to conclusions given the wide variations in the figures.
However, they are urging scientists around the world to harmonize their research in order to determine, for example, the influence of genetics, stress, light or pollution on our migraines.