Migraine · the figures

2 million people. A fraction in the picture.

Migraine is often dismissed as an annoying but harmless inconvenience. The numbers show otherwise: it is one of the most common neurological conditions in the world, and most people who have it are not registered anywhere.

How common it is

Bigger than you think

~2 million

people in the Netherlands are estimated to regularly suffer from migraines, according to the national guideline.

~295.800

people are known to have migraine at the GP (2024), less than 1 in 6 of the estimated group.

1 in 3

people with migraine experience an aura: a temporary neurological disturbance just before the pain.

There is a reason why those first two numbers are so far apart. Healthcare figures sources themselves acknowledge that there is an underestimate, because many people with migraine are rarely or never seen by a healthcare professional. In addition, approximately 123,000 new diagnoses are added each year, a number that has been virtually stable for years. Women have migraines about three times as often as men.

What is striking

90% of chronic migraines

in secondary care is associated with overuse of pain medication: medication overuse headache. This is not a side issue, it is a separate, self-perpetuating headache disorder that arises from the attempt to control the original migraine itself. It is therefore its own variant of what we describe on the medication trap page : a drug that is intended to help becomes part of the problem itself.

“You take a painkiller to get rid of the headache, and that painkiller itself becomes part of the problem.”

Why it was missed is

It is not in the patient, but in the look

It is downplayed

“Everyone has a headache sometimes” makes it difficult to talk about the severity of repeated attacks.

No visible abnormality

There is no scan or blood test that shows migraine. The diagnosis is based on the pattern of symptoms.

Self-medication is obvious

Painkillers are freely available, so people first try to solve it themselves, sometimes for years.

What the numbers do not tell

What does and does not count

Yes counted

What is visible

People registered with the GP with migraine
Sales figures for triptans and preventive medication
Healthcare costs of neurological referrals

Not counted

What is invisible remains

Anyone who combines painkillers themselves without ever being diagnosed
The build-up to medication overuse headaches
Absenteeism from work and missed social moments due to attacks

Sources

Where these figures come from

2 million people with regular migraine

Guidelines database, the official national database for medical guidelines, general introduction to headaches. See productendatabase.nl.

295,800 people known to the GP (2024) and 123,000 new diagnoses per year

Public Health and Care (RIVM), overview of migraine. See volksgezondheidenzorg.info.

Underestimation in the registrations

Health care figures database, explanation of the determination of migraine/chronic headache, which itself indicates that there is an underestimation. See zorg Figuresdatabank.nl.

90% overuse of medication for chronic migraine in secondary care

Pharmacotherapeutisch Kompas, indication text for migraine maintenance treatment. See farmacotherapeutischkompas.nl.

Official guideline

NHG Standard Headache (2025), the national guideline for GPs. See guidelines.nhg.org.

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