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Neurologists Have More Migraines |
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THURSDAY, June 10 (HealthDayNews) -- If you consult a neurologist because you're suffering headaches or migraines, there's a good chance she can feel your pain.
According to a new study, more than four out of five Canadian and Mayo Clinic neurologists have had a headache in the past year and 50 percent of them have had a migraine.
In terms of headaches, those results put neurologists on par with the general population. But when it comes to migraines, neurologists appear to suffer them far more often than other people. Studies indicate that about one in eight adults in Canada and the United States experience migraines.
Why the difference? Do neurologists get migraines from treating people with headaches or do they choose to go into neurology because they suffer migraines?
"A recent study demonstrated that for the vast majority of neurologists, having migraines did not influence their decision to become a neurologist," lead investigator Dr. Jonathon Gladstone, a headache fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., and a neurology resident at the University of Toronto, said in a prepared statement.
"Rather, neurologists are armed with more knowledge about headache types, and are better able to understand and appreciate the spectrum of migraine. As a result, neurologists are better able to recognize that their own headaches are migraines," Gladstone said.
He sent a questionnaire to 75 neurologists in the Toronto area and to 60 neurologists at three Mayo Clinics. Two out of three neurologists reported having at least one migraine in their lifetime.
"We believe this indicates that migraines are much more common than previous general population studies have suggested," Gladstone said.
The study was presented June 10 at the annual scientific meeting of the American Headache Society in Vancouver, British Columbia.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about migraines.
(SOURCE: American Headache Society, news release, June 10, 2004)
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