Women more likely to get headache medication

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study shows that doctors are twice as likely to prescribe drugs for headache to women as they are to men.
Headache is one of the top ten reasons why people consult their doctors. It also accounts for 20 per cent of sick leave, A team at King's College, London, has been looking at over half a million consultations to family doctors about headache and their findings are interesting.

Women were three times as likely to see the doctor about headache symptoms compared to men. Their consultation rate was 6.4 per 100 per year compared with 2.5 per 100 per year for men. The peak age for consultations on headache was 15 to 24. Migraine drugs were prescribed to one in three women with headache and one in four men.

Middle-aged women were significantly more likely to be given headache medication than another other female age group or middle-aged men. In all, six per cent of patients with headache were referred to a specialist. This was more likely for men than women. Half of these referrals were to a neurologist. Further research is needed to see why these patterns in headache frequency and treatment arise.

Source
Journal of Neurology, Neuropsychiatry and Psychiatry 2006 Volume 77 pages 385-387

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