Twenty-five percent of women and 8% of men suffer from migraine headaches. Some migraines are moderate, some are severe. Some occur at every menstrual cycle, some occur twice a month. Some are brought on by stress, smoking, fatigue, and certain foods. Some disable people for days, and all take people away from their jobs, their friends and families, and their livelihoods every time these migraines strike them.

Among these migraine sufferers, only half know that these headaches are migraines, and the other half are misdiagnosed or not receiving any treatment at all. Most people who do know that they suffer from migraine headaches have gone through a long line of doctors to receive the correct diagnosis and proper treatment.

As scientists begin to understand the origins of migraine headaches, more treatments are becoming available to ease the pain. While there’s no cure yet, the medicine that is available is more effective than ever before.

Prevalence of migraines

Nearly 24 million Americans suffer from severe migraines. Of that 24 million, 11.3 million suffer moderate-to-severe disability that results from their migraine headaches, and 4.5 million suffer from one or more migraines per month.¹ (Table 1)

Table 1. Prevalence of migraine in the United States*
	Individuals with severe migraine headache	Individuals with moderate-to-severe disability from migraine headache	Individuals with one or more migraine headache per month
Females	18.0 million	8.7 million	3.4 million
Males	5.6 million	2.6 million	1.1 million
Total	23.6 million	11.3 million	4.5 million
* Based on projections using 1989 US census data.

Gender

Women are three times more likely to experience migraine headaches than men. In a Danish study based on International Headache Society (IHS) criteria, researchers found that 25% of women will suffer from a migraine in their lifetimes as opposed to 8% of men.

Age

Migraines may occur at any age and may affect individuals over a large part of their lifetime; however, the prevalence of migraines peak in women during their 40s and in men during their 30s. Research has shown an increased prevalence of migraines in women during menopause, suggesting that hormonal changes may effect the high rate of migraine occurrence.

Socioeconomic Groups

Differences in the frequency of migraine headaches are found among various socioeconomic groups; however, contrary to historic belief, migraines are found more commonly in those of lower socioeconomic status.¹ Despite this difference of migraine occurrence in lower socioeconomic groups, migraines occur with a similar frequency among races, across different regions of the country, and between urban and rural residents alike in the United States.¹