The overuse of painkillers can contribute to headaches
People all over the world suffer from headaches. More than 1 in 3 people are affected every year. Overuse of painkillers is a contributing factor.
The major global health survey Global Burden of Disease (GBD) has looked at headaches and how they affect the health of people around the globe. This is the most comprehensive study of its kind to date. New figures have been published in the Lancet.–
People who suffer from headaches may make their pain worse by overusing painkiller or using them incorrectly. Photo: Shutterstock, NTB
“The figures vary from country to country, but on average around 34.6 per cent of the world’s population suffers with headaches,” says Andreas Kattem Husøy.
Husøy is a postdoctoral fellow at  the Norwegian Centre for Headache Research (NorHead) and a doctor at the Department of Neurology at St Olav’s Hospital.
Every year, an estimated 2.9 billion people are affected by different kinds of headaches. It’s a substantial problem that affects both people’s ability to work as well as how they feel.
The GBD study looks at a range of data on migraines, tension headaches and headaches caused by painkiller overuse. The data are taken from large population studies. They show that the negative health effects from headaches have been fairly stable since 1990.
As part of the study, researchers also analyzed data from 41,653 people from 18 countries and all continents to find out how often and for how long people have headaches.
Incorrect use of medication is a big problem
The incorrect use of painkillers contributes greatly to these high figures.
“Headaches associated with the overuse of painkillers are actually an incorrect treatment of another type of headache. As a result, the loss of health from this is combined with the health loss caused by the underlying headache,” says Husøy.
Overuse of painkillers contributes to over a fifth of the disease burden caused by headaches.
- In men with tension headaches, incorrect use accounts for around 59 per cent of the health loss, and in women around 56 per cent.
- This use also contributes to health loss in those with migraine; close to 23 per cent in men, and around 14 per cent in women.
Migraine most serious
The health loss attributed to headaches corresponds to an average of around 542 years of life lost per 100,000 people. This does not mean that people with headaches die earlier, but is a statistical expression of reduced quality of life.
Of this, about 90 per cent (almost 488 years of life lost) is due to migraine, which is thus by far the most painful type of headache.
“There is a big difference between women and men here. Women are more than twice as severely affected as men,” says Husøy.
Women lose about 740 years of life per 100,000 people, compared to only about 346 years of life among men.
This is because migraines are much more common in women, but also because women have longer and more frequent headache attacks than men.
People in Norway have higher than average rates of headaches
Headaches and associated ailments are probably evenly distributed throughout the world. But the collection of data varies from country to country, and perhaps we in Norway have more accurate figures than several other countries have.
“The estimates for headaches are slightly higher in Norway and other countries in the West compared to the rest of the world. But the differences are not very great. Many of us believe this is not really that real, but is about poor access to data from low-income countries,” says Husøy.
Headaches, especially migraines, are thus a major global health challenge. Husøy believes this underlines the need for effective strategies for treatment and prevention.
“Much of the burden related to headaches could have been avoided or eliminated by avoiding overuse of painkillers. This includes over-the-counter drugs and shows how important it is that we make sure the general public knows about this problem,” Husøy says
Reference:Husøy, Andreas Kattem et al. Global, regional, and national burden of headache disorders, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. The Lancet Neurology, Volume 24, Issue 12, 1005 – 1015, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(25)00402-8
