Cefaleia como sintoma de doenças neurológicas graves: perfil das hospitalizações por enxaqueca e outras síndromes de algias cefálicas no Brasil.

Abstract

Introduction: Headache disorders are an important cause of disability and healthcare utilization. Although most cases are managed in outpatient settings, severe, refractory, or warning-sign presentations may lead to emergency care and hospitalization. Objective: To characterize the temporal, regional, and sociodemographic distribution of hospitalizations for migraine and other headache syndromes recorded in the Brazilian Unified Health System from 2017 to 2025. Methods: Descriptive retrospective epidemiological study based on aggregated data from the Brazilian Unified Health System Hospital Information System (SIH/SUS), extracted from TABNET/DATASUS. Hospitalizations related to ICD-10 groups G43 and G44 were analyzed according to year, region, type of admission, sex, and age group. Results: A total of 97,622 hospitalizations were recorded, of which 92,637 (94.9%) were emergency admissions. The Southeast accounted for 30.2% of admissions, followed by the Northeast (29.6%) and South (26.1%). Women represented 66.2% of records, with a female-to-male ratio of 1.96. Individuals aged 20–49 years accounted for 52.3% of hospitalizations, with the largest share among those aged 30–39 years (18.1%). After a decline in 2020 and 2021, admissions increased, reaching a series high of 13,360 in 2025. Conclusion: Hospitalizations were predominantly emergency admissions and occurred more frequently among women and working-age adults, with regional differences and a post-2021 increase in hospital volume. These findings describe SUS-funded hospital demand and should not be interpreted as population incidence or prevalence.