Introduction

Headache is an extremely prevalent disorder with a lifetime prevalence of 90–99%. However, a small fraction of people never experiences a headache. Research on people without headache could uncover protective factors in headache, but to our knowledge no study on headache-free individuals has been published. We aim to estimate the prevalence of headache-free individuals among Danish blood donors, and to describe the socio-demographics and health factors of headache-free participants.

Materials and methods

In all, 38,557 healthy volunteers were recruited as part of the Danish Blood Donor Study. Headache-free participants were identified based on the question “Have you ever experienced a headache of any kind?”. Utilising the Danish registries and self-reported questionnaires, we analysed socio-demographic and lifestyle factors using logistic regression adjusted for age and sex.

Results

The prevalence of headache-free individuals was 4.1% (n = 1362) with a female-male ratio of 1:2.2. To be headache free was significantly associated with an employment status as a student, a low level of income and a regular alcohol consumption.

Discussion

The prevalence of headache-free individuals was comparable to population-wide studies of headache. To be headache free was not associated with a high socio-economic status. Further studies on people without headache will hopefully reveal protective factors in headache, and this novel approach might be useful in other very prevalent disorders.

中文翻译：

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在健康的自愿献血者中从未头痛过的人的患病率和社会人口学特征——一项基于人群的研究。

介绍

头痛是一种极为普遍的疾病，终生患病率为 90-99%。然而，一小部分人从未经历过头痛。对无头痛人群的研究可以揭示头痛的保护因素，但据我们所知，尚未发表关于无头痛人群的研究。我们的目标是估计丹麦献血者中无头痛个体的患病率，并描述无头痛参与者的社会人口统计学和健康因素。

材料和方法

作为丹麦献血者研究的一部分，总共招募了 38,557 名健康志愿者。无头痛的参与者是根据“你有没有经历过任何类型的头痛？”这个问题来确定的。利用丹麦登记册和自我报告问卷，我们使用针对年龄和性别调整的逻辑回归分析了社会人口统计学和生活方式因素。

结果

无头痛个体的患病率为 4.1% (n = 1362)，男女比例为 1:2.2。不头痛与学生的就业状况、低收入水平和经常饮酒有显着关联。

讨论

无头痛个体的流行率与头痛的全人群研究相当。没有头痛与高社会经济地位无关。对没有头痛的人的进一步研究有望揭示头痛的保护因素，这种新方法可能对其他非常普遍的疾病有用。