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Migraines on the rise across all services

The number of people in the military diagnosed with migraines for the first time increased 27 percent from 2001 to 2007, leading to more missed work time.

“Migraine, and headaches in general, are important health concerns for the military services because they often have sudden, unpredictable onsets; are relatively common among young adults; are potentially debilitating; and are operationally and medically costly,” wrote Christopher Martin of the Military Health System, in a report from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center

“Among male soldiers, incidence rates of migraine increased nearly 60 percent from 2002 to 2007, a period of continuous U.S. Army combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq,” he said.

Martin theorized that the increased number of headaches may be connected to post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and depression.

Last year, 13,419 troops were diagnosed for the first time with migraines, compared to 11,969 in 2001. The incident rate increased from 5.86 diagnoses per 1,000 men in 2001 to 8.08 per 1,000 men in 2007, and from 28 diagnoses to 34.34 per 1,000 women in 2007.

The statistics, gathered by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, included all active-duty service members who received a hospital discharge diagnosis or primary outpatient diagnosis of migraine or headache. This does not include deployed service members.

In the Army, the incident rate per 1,000 people increased for men from 6.6 in 2001 to 10.45 in 2007. Army women also had increase rates, growing from 30.24 per thousand in 2001 to 40.54 last year. Male Marines had the lowest rates, with 4.36 per thousand in 2001 and 5.78 in 2007. Marine women had rates of 19.4 per thousand in 2001 and 25.15 last year.

For Coast Guard men, the rates rose from 4.80 in 2001 to 6.67 in 2007, and in Coast Guard women it rose from 15.12 in 2001 to 32.04 in 2007.

In the Air Force, the men’s rate grew from 6.97 in 2001 to 7.95 in 2007, while the women’s rate grew from 30.04 in 2001 to 31.02 in 2007.

In the Navy, the rate for male sailors grew from 4.81 in 2001 to 6.65 in 2007, and for female sailors from 24.96 in 2001 to 33.14 in 2007.

Martin wrote the numbers are likely to be much higher because people usually self-diagnose a headache and treat it with over-the-counter medication, rather than seek a diagnosis.

About 6 percent of civilian men and 18 percent of civilian women have been diagnosed with migraine headaches, which differ from other headaches because they are typically throbbing, hurt in one part of the head, and are incredibly painful.

Sometimes the headaches are preceded by a “migraine aura,” which can include blurred or obstructed vision, skin numbness or tingling, exaggerated responses to pain or momentary loss of consciousness. During the headache, some people complain of nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and dizziness.

“Migraine is an especially severe form of headache,” Martin wrote. “Many migraine sufferers are totally incapacitated during attacks.”

Martin wrote that seeing a doctor is important because migraine sufferers can learn about ways to prevent migraines.

He recommended further study of the incidence of headaches for deployed service members.