Consulting behaviour in migraine and tension-type headache sufferers: a population survey in Santiago, Chile

Migraine and tension-type headaches are the most frequent types of headaches in Santiago. The purpose of this paper is to describe the patterns of health care utilization in migraine and compare them with tension-type headache sufferers in a community-based study of the prevalence of headache in Santiago, Chile. A two-step questionnaire was administered to an age- and gender-representative sample of 1540 eligible subjects who were aged 15 years or older. Of these, 1385 (89.9%) responded. Cases were defined according to the most frequent type of headache experienced in the last year. Migraine and tension-type headaches were diagnosed according to a questionnaire-based algorithm constructed using the IHS criteria. Consultation rates in migraneurs were significantly (P < 0.01) higher (63%) than in tension-type headache suffers (39%). Migraneurs were more likely to be female, younger and less educated, and had more severe attacks than those with tension-type headache. Female sex, younger age, fewer years of education in migraneurs and younger age and moderate or severe headache in tension-type headache sufferers were found to be independently associated with the likelihood of ever consulting, respectively. Migraneurs are more likely to consult than tension-type headache suffers in this population.