Age-related prevalence and features of migraine headache in Hungarian schoolchildren and adolescents

BACKGROUND: Differences occur in certain features of childhood and adult migraine, such as the duration and location. However, few studies have been reported of the changes in other symptoms during childhood. AIMS: The aims of this study were to establish the prevalence of migraine headache in children in Hungary, and to investigate the changes in prevalence of migraine and migraine symptoms in a wide paediatric age range. METHODS: We conducted a school-based study with the use of a questionnaire. RESULTS: 7361 7-18-year-old students participated. The 1-year prevalence of migraine was 12.5% (9.2% in boys and 15.4% in girls). With the criterion of a headache duration of 4 h for 15-18-year-olds and of 1 h below the age of 15, the overall prevalence decreased to 9.1%. The prevalence of migraine increased steadily from young childhood to late adolescence in both boys and girls. The frequency and duration of headache increased, whereas vomiting and nausea became less prevalent with advancing age in both genders. The prevalence of uni/bilaterality, photophobia and phonophobia increased only in girls, while that of a pulsating character did so only in boys. CONCLUSIONS: The migraine characteristics displayed by the studied population proved similar to those experienced in other countries. The duration of headache applied in the diagnosis of migraine exerts a great impact on the prevalence data. The features of migraine change with advancing age, a situation demanding consideration in studies on migraine in children of different ages