MIGRAINE, CHRONIC TENSION-TYPE HEADACHE, AND CLUSTER HEADACHE IN AN ETHIOPIAN RURAL-COMMUNITY

Fiffeen-thousand-five-hundred adults (greater than or equal to 20 years) in a rural district in Ethiopia with a population of 250 000 were studied for chronic headache. Door-to-door survey was performed hy trained lay health workers using a questionnaire with a high degree or reliability and validity. The 1-year prevalence of migraine headache was 3.0% (4.2% for females and 1.7% for males) with the peak age specific rate in the fourth decade. Migraine headache was about three times more common in females than in males at any decade. Two-thirds of migraine sufferers had rather frequent attacks. The most frequent trigger factors were emotional stress (90%), changes of weather (78%), physical exhaustion (75%), and smell (70%). Migraine with aura was rare. Family occurrence of migraine in first-degree relatives was 30%. The 1-year prevalence of chronic tension-type headache was 1.7% rare. Compared to similarly performed surveys, the prevalence of migraine among rural Ethiopians was less than among Nigerian Africans.