SynthesisPain research & management2026
Effect of Educational and Behavioral Interventions on Medication-Overuse Headache: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Pain research & management, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effect of Educational and Behavioral Interventions on Medication-Overuse Headache: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Pain research & management · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedication-overuse headache (MOH) is a disabling secondary headache arising from frequent acute medication intake in individuals with preexisting primary headache. Behavioral and psychosocial factors may perpetuate medication overuse. As a reduction of acute medication intake is essential for remission, educational and behavioral interventions are commonly used; however, their effectiveness remains uncertain.
objectivesTo systematically evaluate the effectiveness of educational and behavioral interventions on acute medication use, headache frequency, and headache-related disability in patients with MOH, and to assess short- and longer-term outcomes compared to usual care.
methodsPubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception to January 2026 for randomized controlled trials evaluating educational or behavioral interventions in adults with MOH. Outcomes included reduction of acute medication use, headache frequency, and headache-related disability. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed where appropriate.
resultsSix trials (610 participants) were included. Brief educational interventions were associated with clinically meaningful reductions in acute medication use and headache frequency. Multiple-session interventions, compared to minimal intervention, were associated with additional mean reductions in acute medication use of approximately 3 days per month and in headache frequency of 2.6 days per month at 3 months and 0.8 days per month at 12 months; however, between-group differences were not statistically significant. Substantial heterogeneity was observed.
conclusionsBrief educational interventions may be considered as a potentially useful component of MOH care. Multisession interventions may offer additional benefit but remain inconclusive because of heterogeneity and limited evidence. Further high-quality trials are needed to define optimal strategies.
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Registered trials
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