Credit: Cell Reports Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102348

Modern lifestyles including stress, sedentary activity, caffeine, alcohol and poor-quality sleep remain widespread triggers for migraines and headaches, which affect more than a third of the world’s population, according to a comprehensive analysis of the global impact of the disorders.

The international study, led by neurology experts from La Trobe University and Western Health and published in Cell Reports Medicine, found the COVID-19 pandemic introduced additional challenges for headache management, with acute or chronic headaches after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination adding to the global burden.

The researchers assert that more health care funding and recognition of migraines and headaches is needed to support the 2.8 billion people who suffer from the debilitating conditions worldwide.

The research comes as thousands of people are expected to gather in Melbourne’s Treasury Gardens this Sunday, November 2 for the Step4Migraine Walk, an annual event aimed at boosting migraine awareness and accessibility.

Researchers analyzed the latest data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study (GBD) to update global estimates of prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) of headache disorders from 1990 to 2021 across 204 countries and territories.

It found women aged 30–44 and people from countries with higher income and health care quality are disproportionately affected by headache disorders, and while migraines are less common, they are far more disabling.

Some patients with migraines co-infected with SARS-CoV-2 also reported experiencing more severe pain that is often less responsive to standard analgesics.

“These new headache issues, combined with increased psychological stress, disrupted health care access and social factors, may have further complicated an already pressing public health issue,” the study found.

Lead researcher Professor Tissa Wijeratne, from La Trobe University and Western Health in Melbourne, said while advances in diagnostic tools and treatment options have improved the recognition and management of headache disorders, rates are expected to remain at the same level due to the enduring influence of modern risk factors.

Furthermore, the limited use of professional health care for headaches and the reliance on over-the-counter treatments may continue to impede substantial reductions in prevalence and disability.

Professor Wijeratne said tailored interventions and resources could reduce the burden of the disorders over the coming decades.

“This study emphasizes the urgent need to prioritize headache disorders in global health agendas,” the report says.

More information: Tissa Wijeratne et al, Global, regional, and national burden of headache disorders, 1990–2021, with forecasts to 2050: A Global Burden of Disease study 2021, Cell Reports Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102348

Citation: Migraines and headaches are a global burden that needs greater recognition, international study finds (2025, November 2) retrieved 2 November 2025 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-migraines-headaches-global-burden-greater.html

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