Kids' migraines often go untreated

Severe headaches result in missed school days, activities and family time

Maclean's Magazine, April 18, 2006

more than six per cent of adolescents suffer from migraine headaches, but only a fraction of those are receiving care, a new study indicates.

Dr. Paul Winner, clinical associate professor of neurology at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and director of the Palm Beach Headache Center, recently presented results from a survey of more than 18,700 U.S. adolescents. The survey showed that five per cent of boys ages 12 to 19 and nearly eight per cent of girls in that age range suffer from migraines.

"Adolescents have significant migraine," Winner says, adding that migraine headaches cause considerable disability in affected children.

"Over 60 per cent had severe headaches of consequence. Over 60 per cent had one to four headaches per month. That's a lot of pain, that's a lot of disability," Winner says. The result is missed school days, activities and family time. "These headaches are more influential in their lives than we realize."

The majority of adolescents with migraines (59 per cent) used only over-the-counter medication to treat acute headaches. Only 17 per cent of affected young people used prescribed medication to treat their condition.

The survey also shows migraines start to become more common in girls than boys at about age 14. The study authors think the influence of the female hormone estrogen is at least partially responsible for this disparity, which becomes Read More ..rked until adulthood, at which point migraine is three times more common in women than in men.

With files from The Medical Post.