On March 26, 2004-after 7 years of planning and discussions-WHO's European Office in Copenhagen will host the launch of a global enterprise unique in the specially of headache disorders. Headache disorders are ubiquitous. Their lifetime prevalence is over 90% in those populations that have been studied. Pain, suffering, and disability caused by headache disorders impose substantial burdens, at both personal and societal levels. According to WHO, migraine is 19th in the list of causes of years of life lived with disability.1 There are huge consequential financial costs. A recent US study reported indirect costs in a managed-care population of over US(dollar)4500 per patient per year. In the UK, costs of migraine due to loss of productivity are partly the result of absenteeism during acute attacks, which is estimated to account for 25 million days of missed work or school each year.
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