Abstract Background Headache disorders affect over half of the global population, with a prevalence of 52% for all headaches, 14% for migraine, and 26% for tension-type headache. In 2023, an estimated 2.9 billion people (34.6% globally) were affected by headache disorders, with a disability burden of 541.9 YLDs per 100,000 population. The objective of this study was to describe the spectrum of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnoses and cost per clinically relevant diagnosis among patients referred for neuroimaging due to headaches in two referral centers. Methods This cross sectional study analyzed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patients presenting with chronic headache at two tertiary hospitals. A total of 99 patients were included in the analysis. Demographic characteristics, including age and gender, were recorded, and radiological findings were categorized into diagnostic groups. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and the association between gender and radiological diagnosis was evaluated using the Fisher’s exact test. Results Among the 99 patients, 64.6% were females and 35.4% were males, with a mean age of 39.3 ± 17.2 years. Clinically relevant MRI findings were identified in 42.4% of patients, while 47.5% were incidental and 10.1% were normal. Several conditions, including benign intracranial hypertension, Chiari type I malformation, dural sinus thrombosis, intracranial hypotension, and demyelinating disease, were observed predominantly in females. A significant association was found between gender and radiological diagnosis ( p = 0.002). Conclusion Clinically relevant MRI findings were identified in 42.4% of patients, whereas nearly half of abnormalities were incidental. Appropriate patient selection remains essential to optimize diagnostic yield and cost utilization.
Mahdawi et al. (Tue,) studied this question.