Self-medication for migraine: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Italy

Headache disorders are considered the second leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide, and 90% of people have a headache episode at least once a year, thus representing a relevant public health priority. As the pharmacist is often the first and only point of reference for people compla...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2019-01, Vol.14 (1), p.e0211191-e0211191
Main Authors: Brusa, Paola, Allais, Gianni, Scarinzi, Cecilia, Baratta, Francesca, Parente, Marco, Rolando, Sara, Gnavi, Roberto, Spadea, Teresa, Costa, Giuseppe, Benedetto, Chiara, Mana, Massimo, Giaccone, Mario, Mandelli, Andrea, Manzoni, Gian Camillo, Bussone, Gennaro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Classification
Costs
Cross-Sectional Studies
Demographics
Distribution
Drug stores
Drugs
Education
Epidemiology
Female
Headache
Headaches
Health aspects
Humans
Italy - epidemiology
Male
Medicine and Health Sciences
Middle Aged
Migraine
Migraine Disorders - drug therapy
Migraine Disorders - epidemiology
Pain
Patients
People and Places
Pharmacies
Pharmacists
Prevalence
Public health
Research and Analysis Methods
Self Medication
Sex Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Headache disorders are considered the second leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide, and 90% of people have a headache episode at least once a year, thus representing a relevant public health priority. As the pharmacist is often the first and only point of reference for people complaining of headache, we carried out a survey in a nationwide sample of Italian pharmacies, in order to describe the distribution of migraine or non-migraine type headaches and medicines overuse among people entering pharmacies seeking for self-medication; and to evaluate the association, in particular of migraine, with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, and with the pathway of care followed by the patients. A 14-item questionnaire, including socio-demographic and clinical factors, was administered by trained pharmacists to subjects who entered a pharmacy requesting self-medication for a headache attack. The ID Migraine™ Screener was used to classify headache sufferers in four classes. From June 2016 to January 2017, 4424 people have been interviewed. The prevalence of definite migraines was 40%, significantly higher among women and less educated people. About half of all headache sufferers and a third of migraineurs do not consider their condition as a disease and are not cared by any doctor. Among people seeking self-medication in pharmacies for acute headache attacks, the rate of definite or probable migraine is high, and a large percentage of them is not correctly diagnosed and treated. The pharmacy can be a valuable observatory for the study of headaches, and the first important step to improve the quality of care delivered to these patients.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0211191