Infographic: Migraine

Author: Li Mingwang / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Migraine is a common, unique, and persistent disease that is invisible and intangible but unbearable for those who suffer from it. Many people are affected by it. Surveys have found that the incidence rate of migraine accounts for 3.7% to 13.5% of the total population and more than one-fourth of all headache patients. Additional statistics show that the female-to-male ratio in the general population is approximately 15% and 6%, respectively (Figure 1-1). The incidence rate in women is significantly higher than in men. According to a recent issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, there are currently 21 million female migraine patients in the U.S., while there are only 700,000 male patients. Reports on migraine incidence rates from various regions of the world show significant differences, which may be related to variations in diagnostic and survey methods. However, all reports agree that migraine is more common in women. Some scholars have found that the prevalence rate of migraine in China is 985.2 per 100,000 people. The male-to-female ratio is 1:4, and the highest incidence rate occurs in the 25–29 age group. The high incidence rate has led the United Nations to spend $2 billion annually on medical treatment for it. Tracing back, migraine is an ancient and persistent illness. As early as 2,500 years ago, around the time of Confucius in China, the great Greek physician Hippocrates proposed the term "hemiplegic headache" to describe the obvious characteristics of migraine directly and objectively. Migraine is also derived from this Greek term. Traditional Chinese medicine views migraine as primarily caused by pathologies in the three Yang meridians. The Cold Studio Medical Notes states: "Headache associated with the solar disease manifests from the back of the head to the top of the head, with pain radiating to the neck; that associated with the yangming disease involves the eyes and the forehead; and that associated with the shaoyang disease extends to both temples, with pain on the side of the head." Migraine is a type of vascular headache, which is caused by changes in the contraction function of cranial blood vessels. Vascular headaches are divided into primary and secondary categories. Primary vascular headaches are also known as migraines, while secondary headaches are often bilateral.
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