Observational studyBMJ open2024
Characteristics of patients who seek medical attention for headache and those who do not: cross-sectional survey and linked medical claims data analysis in Japan.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Patient-Doctor Communication in Migraine: Results from the OVERCOME (Japan) 2nd Study.Neurology and therapy · 2025Article
- Chronic headache disorders as a threat to brain health among employees of a city office in the Tokyo metropolitan area.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- Hallmarks of primary headache: part 2- Tension-type headache.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Review
- The dual impact of ictal and interictal burden in migraine: an analysis from the ObserVational survey of the Epidemiology, tReatment, and Care Of MigrainE (OVERCOME) Japan second study.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Observational
- Real-world use of over-the-counter medications by patients with migraine in Japan: results from the OVERCOME (Japan) 2nd study.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Observational
- Evaluating headache referral trends and practices across different settings in neurology clinics: insights from an international cross-sectional multicenter study.Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2025Article
- Work productivity by diseases diagnosed among workers: a study using large-scale claims data and survey data of workers in Japan.Journal of occupational health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo describe the characteristics of patients who sought medical attention for headache and those who did not.
designThis observational study used a cross-sectional online survey and linked medical claims data.
settingData from an online self-administered questionnaire survey conducted in November 2020 as well as linked medical claims data spanning December 2017 and November 2020 were provided by DeSC Healthcare Inc.
participantsOf 21 480 respondents aged 19-74 years whose sex and age data matched the claims data, 7311 reported experiencing headache. MEASURES: Outcomes included participant characteristics, status of medical attention seeking, medication use, quality of life (QOL) measured by Migraine-Specific QOL (MSQ) questionnaire V.2.1 and headache intensity.
resultsOf the 7311 respondents with headache, 735 sought medical attention and 6576 did not. Compared with those who did not seek medical attention, those who sought medical attention had more frequent headaches (median: 5 days/3 months vs 10 days/3 months in those who did not vs those who sought medical attention, respectively) had lower MSQ score (mean (SD) MSQ total score: 87.6 (13.0) vs 77.1 (18.1)) and were likely to experience moderately severe to severe headache (19.0% (1252/6576) vs 41.2% (303/735)) without headache medication. The inability to tolerate headache (36.5% (268/735)) was a common reason for seeking medical attention. Since the pain was not severe enough, 35.3% (2323/6576) of patients did not seek medical attention. Furthermore, a subgroup of respondents experiencing headache for ≥15 days were uncertain about which hospital or department to attend.
conclusionsPatients typically seek help when the pain becomes unbearable. Still, some of them did not seek medical attention while they were experiencing headache for ≥15 days per month. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness and encourage seeking early medical attention before symptoms and associated burdens become too severe to be managed effectively.
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