Headache in the city more often

To help relieve headaches helps escape from the city

04/30/2013

Headaches are one of the most common symptoms in Germany and are therefore a health problem that should not be underestimated. Approximately 54 million Germans say that they have had headaches during their lifetime. Thus, an average of around 17,000 people suffer from headache problems every day.

According to the German Migraine and Headache Society caused by headaches and migraines economically calculated about 2.3 billion euros annually expenditure. In Germany alone, drugs for pain are administered every year in more than three billion single doses. About 85 percent of the remedies are taken because of headache problems.

Stress as a trigger of headache problems
„Stress is considered one of the most common triggers for headaches. More and more people are discussing whether our lifestyles, the constant accessibility of each individual for private and professional reasons and the huge amount of concentration of work make us ill and lead to more headaches“, says Privatdozentin Dr. Stefanie Förderreuther, neurologist and general secretary of the German Migraine and Headache Society (DMKG). A long-term study, which was carried out in cooperation with the DMKG and in the journal „Journal of Headache and Pain“, showed that, statistically speaking, more people in cities of 50,000 or more have headaches than people living in rural areas.

Lifestyle in the city causes more headaches
The study was conducted between the years 1995 and 2009. Every year, large consumer surveys took place, involving around 16,000 to 18,000 people. One question related to the frequency of headaches. Over the years, the proportion of headache sufferers was between 58 and 62 percent. An increasing tendency between the years could not make out the researchers. However, a clear difference could be discovered: „People in the city are more likely to have headaches than people in rural areas.“ According to the head pain expert Förderreuther this could on „different lifestyle“. Anyone who suffers from headaches more often could find a cure in the countryside. Quiet and the seclusion from the stress in the city could certainly work.

No east-west difference
Another result of the long-term study was that women on average suffer from headaches at 67.3 to 70.7 percent more frequently than men (up to 54.3 percent). The scientists could make no difference between federal states or regions. There are also no differences between the East German and the West German countries. (Sb)