Abstract

Background
s: Since the International Headache Society(IHS) announced the classification and diag- nostic criteria for headache in 1988, migraine prevalence has been studied in many developed countries. However, no prevalence study of migraine with significant reliability is available in Korea hitherto. We believed the previous Korean study in 1998 was biased due to a very high rate of drop-out, thus revea- ling the world-highest prevalence rate of migraine since the IHS criteria was introduced. Methods: Among Koreans of 20 years old or more, we randomly selected about 1,500 target population by stratified random sampling with clustering, considering residential area, age, and gender. The headache questionnaire was designed to sort out headache and classify migraine based on the IHS classification and criteria for headache(1988). Results: Interviews using headache questionnaire and phone was sequen- tially conducted. The trained interviewers met the target individuals, then let him/her answer the questionnaire. If a target individual was not present during the inter- view period, a substitute candidate with the most similar demographic condition was interviewed in the same cluster area. A neurologist, expert in headache, gathered and analysed these data, then called target individuals if necessary to confirm whether(s)he has migraine or not. The number of target individuals was 1,523. There was no drop-out during questionnaire interviews. The investigator could not get phone interview with 17% of the target individuals who needed it. The overall migraine prevalence for last 12 months was 6.5%. The rate of migraine with aura was 1.3%, migraine without aura was 5.2%.(Male patients 3.2%, and females 9.7%). Prevalence of migrainous disorder was 5.9%. The fourth decade in life showed the highest prevalence(10.3%). Eigthy percent experienced difficulty in their school/job activities due to migraine. Two percent of the migraineurs occasionally visited emergency room for very severe migraine attacks. Conclusions: This study showed very similar results with those of Japanese and U.S. Asian studies. Among possible variables which determine migraine prevalence in a given population(country), genetic background seems to be the most influential. In conclusion, this is the first nationwide Korean study of migraine prevalence with good reliability and validity. Korean Journal of Headache 1(1):57-66, 2000