A team led by epidemiologists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology summarized epidemiological headache studies from 1961 to the end of 2020; the data included general headaches, migraines, and tension-type headaches, revealing that 52 percent of us suffer from some form of headache disorder each year.
Taken together, the authors estimate that global prevalence for migraines is 14 percent, and 26 percent for tension-type headaches.Researchers also found that all types of headaches were more common in females than in males, with migraines showing the largest difference . Women were also more likely to report their headaches as an ongoing health issue, with 6 percent of females reporting they had a headache on 15 or more days per month, compared to 2.9 percent in males.
While it appears that migraine is increasing, the team notes that's not the only possible explanation.