Although often Don't Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much Of Today-94considered a women’s disease, migraine affects a substantial portion of men, yet is diagnosed and treated less often than in women, according to results from a large online survey presented at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society in June, in San Diego.

“Our findings were largely consistent with a study done by Drs. Dawn Buse and Richard Lipton a few years ago,” said the first author, Ann I. Scher, PhD, professor of epidemiology in the department of preventive medicine and biometrics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, during her presentation at the AHS meeting.

“Migraine is common in men, and may be less treated and less recognized by physicians,” Dr. Scher said. “This may be editorializing, but the perception that migraine is a women’s disease may contribute to migraine stigma and deny men access to diagnosis and treatment.”

A coauthor of the paper, Richard B. Lipton, MD, FAAN, professor and vice chair of neurology at the Albert Einstien College of Medicine and director of the Montefiore Headache Center, said that while migraine is three times more common in women than in men, it’s still more prevalent in men than any other neurological disorder.

“Men are less likely to go to the doctor and less likely to be diagnosed with migraine when they do,” Dr. Lipton said. “So the perception that migraine is a women’s disease may be a barrier to getting diagnosed and treated.”

For neurologists, he said, “The key point is that if you can see a man with headache, it can be migraine and it’s good to have a high index of suspicion.”

Neurology Today

July 7, 2016

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