From drug-induced headache to medication overuse headache. A short epidemiological review, with a focus on Latin American countries.

Abstract

Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a daily or almost-daily type of headache that results from the chronicization, usually migraine or tension-type headache, as a consequence of the progressive increase of intake of symptomatic drugs. MOH is now the third most frequent type of headache and affects a percentage of 1-1.4% of the general population. The currently available data on the impact of chronic headache associated with analgesic overuse in specialist headache centres confirm, beyond doubt, the existence of a serious health problem. Limited amount of data exists on the burden and impact of MOH in Latin American Countries. In this review, we summarise the reliable information from the literature on the epidemiological impact of MOH.

• Authors: Marta Allena, Zaza Katsarava, Giuseppe Nappi, COMOESTAS Consortium
• Journal: The journal of headache and pain (J Headache Pain) Vol. 10 Issue 2 Pg. 71-6 (Apr 2009) ISSN: 1129-2377 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 19238511 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Analgesics

Topics

• Age Factors
• Analgesics (administration & dosage, adverse effects)
• Chronic Disease
• Headache (chemically induced, epidemiology)
• Humans
• Latin America (epidemiology)
• Migraine Disorders (chemically induced, epidemiology)
• Tension-Type Headache (chemically induced, epidemiology)
• Time Factors