Editing Headache (section)

== Epidemiology ==
[[Literature review]]s find that approximately 64–77% of adults have had a headache at some point in their lives.<ref name="Manzoni" /><ref name="Stovner" />  During each year, on average, 46–53% of people have headaches.<ref name="Manzoni">{{cite book | vauthors = Manzoni GC, Stovner LJ | title = Headache | chapter = Epidemiology of headache | volume = 97 | pages = 3–22 | year = 2010 | pmid = 20816407 | doi = 10.1016/s0072-9752(10)97001-2 | isbn = 978-0-444-52139-2 | series = Handbook of Clinical Neurology | quote = [T]he prevalence [of headache within the last year] was on average 46% based on 35 different studies from all over the world, but the variation was immense, between 1% and 87%. The lifetime prevalence was much as expected – 64%, varying between 8% and 96% in 14 studies. For current chronic headache, the average of 10 studies was 3.4%, varying between 1.7% and 7.3%. }}</ref><ref name="Stovner">{{cite journal | vauthors = Stovner LJ, Andree C | title = Prevalence of headache in Europe: a review for the Eurolight project | journal = The Journal of Headache and Pain | volume = 11 | issue = 4 | pages = 289–299 | date = August 2010 | pmid = 20473702 | pmc = 2917556 | doi = 10.1007/s10194-010-0217-0 | quote = Calculating the mean of all the studies comprising more than 205,000 adult participants, current headache [i.e. headache within the last year] occurred in 53% of adults (61% among women and 45% among men).... The total lifetime prevalence of headache among adults was as expected higher than that of current headache (77%). }}</ref> However, the [[prevalence]] of headache varies widely depending on how the survey was conducted, with studies finding lifetime prevalence of as low as 8% to as high as 96%.<ref name="Manzoni" /><ref name="Stovner" /><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Stovner LJ, Hagen K, Jensen R, Katsarava Z, Lipton R, Scher A, Steiner T, Zwart JA | title = The global burden of headache: a documentation of headache prevalence and disability worldwide | journal = Cephalalgia | volume = 27 | issue = 3 | pages = 193–210 | date = March 2007 | pmid = 17381554 | doi = 10.1111/j.1468-2982.2007.01288.x | s2cid = 23927368 }}</ref>  Most of these headaches are not dangerous. Only approximately 1–5% of people who seek emergency treatment for headaches have a serious underlying cause.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Mattu M, Goyal D, Barrett JW, Broder J, DeAngelis M, Deblieux P, Garmel GM, Harrigan R, Karras D, L'Italien A, Manthey D |title=Emergency medicine: Avoiding the pitfalls and improving the outcomes |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell|Blackwell / BMJ Books]] |location=Malden, MA |year=2007 |page=39 |isbn=978-1-4051-4166-6}}</ref>

More than 90% of headaches are primary headaches.<ref name="D">{{cite web | vauthors = Kunkel RS |date=1 August 2010 |work=Disease Management Project: Publications |publisher=[[Cleveland Clinic]] |url= http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/neurology/headache-syndromes/ |title=Headache |access-date=6 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130504085702/http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/neurology/headache-syndromes/ |archive-date=4 May 2013 }}</ref> Most of these primary headaches are tension headaches.<ref name=Stovner /> Most people with tension headaches have "episodic" tension headaches that come and go. Only 3.3% of adults have chronic tension headaches, with headaches for more than 15 days in a month.<ref name=Stovner />

Approximately 12–18% of people in the world have migraines.<ref name=Stovner /> More women than men experience migraines. In Europe and North America, 5–9% of men experience migraines, while 12–25% of women experience migraines.<ref name=Manzoni />

Cluster headaches are relatively uncommon. They affect only 1–3 per thousand people in the world. Cluster headaches affect approximately three times as many men as women.<ref name=Stovner />