197686 Prevalence of self-reported headache disorders among US military service members in the Millennium Cohort

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Tomoko I. Hooper, MD, MPH , Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Nisara S. Granado, MPH, PhD , DoD Center for Deployment Health Research, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA
Gary D. Gackstetter, DVM, MPH, PhD , Analytic Services Inc. (ANSER), Arlington, VA
Ann I. Scher, PhD , Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Christopher J. Jankosky, MD, MPH , Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Edward J. Boyko, MD, MPH , Department of Veteran's Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, Seattle, WA
Tyler C. Smith, MS, PhD , DoD Center for Deployment Health Research, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA
Introduction: Headache disorders, including migraine, could have important consequences on the performance of military service members. Our objective was to characterize headache disorders in a large population-based military cohort in the context of demographic, behavioral, and other characteristics.

Methods: A representative sample (n=77,047) of U.S. active duty, Reserve and National Guard members completed a baseline questionnaire from July 2001 to June 2003 as participants in the Millennium Cohort Study. Women were oversampled and comprised approximately 25% of the study population. The vast majority (87%) were 44 years or less in age. Migraine and other headache disorders were assessed using the following headache measures: self-reported history of provider-diagnosed migraine; recurrent severe headaches within the past year, and bothered a lot by headaches within the past 4 weeks.

Results: The overall baseline prevalence of self-reported, provider-diagnosed migraine was 11%, the prevalence of self-reported recurrent severe headaches was 13%, and the prevalence of being bothered a lot by headaches was 6%. Analyses by age, sex, and race/ethnicity are underway to provide a basis for comparison with the U.S. civilian population.

Conclusion: Headaches may be a significant source of morbidity within the U.S. military population. Further analysis to elucidate distribution and determinants of migraine and other headache disorders may guide appropriate screening measures, promote preventive interventions in the workplace, and increase utilization of effective treatment strategies to reduce suffering and enhance performance of military service members.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the prevalence of headache disorders in this study population based on self-reported headache measures in a survey instrument. 2. Discuss possible reasons why the prevalence of self-reported provider-diagnosed migraine in this military population may be higher than in a civilian population. 3. Identify the demographic characteristics of individuals who report headache disorders.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I helped with the analysis, study design, interpretation of the data, and writing and revision of the abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology Poster Session
See more of: Epidemiology