Characteristics of the Patients with Headache at a Primary Care Neurology Clinic.
- Author:
Gwang Byeng AHN
1
;
Jae Moon KIM
Author Information
1. Ahn Gwang-Byeng Neurology Clinic.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Headache;
Primary Care Clinic;
Migraine;
Women;
Housewives
- MeSH:
Daejeon;
Female;
Headache*;
Humans;
Male;
Migraine Disorders;
Neurology*;
Primary Health Care*;
Prospective Studies;
Tension-Type Headache
- From:Journal of the Korean Neurological Association
2000;18(1):33-37
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: We investigated the demographic features and characteristics of headache (HA) in patients visiting a primary care clinic (PCC). METHODS: We prospectively collected the demographic and clinical data of 261 consecutive HA patients in a PCC located in Taejon from Oct. 1996 to Jul. 1998. All patients were interviewed and examined by a single neurologist. The types of HA were classified as migraine, tension-type, mixed, and others. RESULTS: The mean age at the initial visit was 37.2 +/-13.4 years. Women were 3 times more common than men (193 patients vs. 68 patients). More than half of the female patients were housewives (47.5%). Migraine was the most common type of headache (114 patients, 43.7%), followed by mixed type (72 patients, 27.6%) and tension-type headaches (57 patients, 21.8%). 85.7% of patients with HA for more than 1 month had taken medication before their initial visit. Among the 168 patients who reported their attitude toward HA, 55 patients continuously worried about their HA even in the HA-free period. CONCLUSIONS: In a PCC, migraine was the prevailing type of HA. The majority of HA sufferers were housewives.
