The prevalence and diagnosis of headache in an urban practice

During a six-month study, one person in every 24 of the practice population consulted us about headache. There were more than twice as many females as males, and the largest group of females was in the 20 to 40 year age group.The majority of patients were managed entirely in the practice; only 10.4 per cent were investigated and four per cent were referred to hospital. The commonest cause was tension. Two patients had headaches due to serious pathology and one of these died.