Cell Reports Medicine
Modern lifestyles – including stress, sedentary habits, caffeine, alcohol consumption and poor sleep quality – remain common triggers for migraines and headaches, affecting more than a third of people worldwide, according to a comprehensive review of the disorders’ global impact.
The study, led by neurology experts from La Trobe University and Western Health, was published in Cell Reports Medicine and shows that the COVID‑19 pandemic created new complications for headache care, adding acute or chronic headaches after SARS‑CoV‑2 infection or vaccination to the worldwide burden.
Researchers argue that greater health‑care spending and official recognition of migraines and headaches are required to support the 2.8 billion individuals suffering from these debilitating conditions.
The findings arrive just before thousands of participants are expected to gather this Sunday, November 2, in Melbourne’s Treasury Gardens for the Step4Migraine Walk, an annual event designed to raise awareness and improve access to care.
The team analyzed the latest data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study (GBD), updating global estimates of prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) for headache disorders from 1990 to 2021 across 204 countries and territories.
Key results showed that women aged 30–44 and people living in higher‑income countries experience a disproportionate burden of headache disorders, with migraines – though less common – proving far more disabling.
Some migraine sufferers who were also infected with SARS‑CoV‑2 reported more severe pain that is frequently less responsive to standard painkillers.
“These new headache challenges, combined with increased psychological stress, disrupted health‑care access and social factors, may have further complicated an already pressing public‑health issue,” the report states.
Lead researcher Professor Tissa Wijeratne, of La Trobe University and Western Health, notes that advances in diagnostic tools and treatment options have improved recognition and management of headache disorders, yet prevalence is expected to remain steady because of the persistent influence of modern risk factors.
He adds that limited use of professional health‑care services for headaches and reliance on over‑the‑counter medications could still impede large reductions in prevalence and disability.
Professor Wijeratne emphasizes that tailored interventions and resources could lessen the burden of these disorders over the coming decades.
“This study underscores the urgent need to prioritize headache disorders in global health agendas,” the report concludes.