Journal profile · Clinical Neurology
HEADACHE
ISSN 0017-8748 · eISSN 1526-4610 · Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1961
HEADACHE: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.83; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,150; median 128 days to acceptance (86 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 252 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
HEADACHE is published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Migraine and Headache Studies, Trigeminal Neuralgia and Treatments and Neurological Complications and Syndromes, together about 55.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Neurology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Headache publishes original articles on all aspects of head and face pain and is the official journal of the American Headache Society.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Clinical Neurology
Editor-in-chief Amy A. GelfandPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Migraine and Headache StudiesMedicine40.1%
- Trigeminal Neuralgia and TreatmentsMedicine8.7%
- Neurological Complications and SyndromesMedicine6.5%
- Ophthalmology and Eye DisordersMedicine5%
- Sympathectomy and Hyperhidrosis TreatmentsMedicine4.4%
- Traumatic Brain Injury ResearchMedicine4%
- Cerebral Venous Sinus ThrombosisMedicine2.8%
- Neurosurgical Procedures and ComplicationsMedicine2.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.83LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.91LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.31LetPub ·
- h-index
- 108LetPub ·
- h-index
- 185OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 5,029OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.41OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 47.1%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 169LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 10,423 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 200 | 102 | 62 |
| 2025 | 252 | 158 | 760 |
| 2024 | 235 | 152 | 1,523 |
| 2023 | 211 | 137 | 1,954 |
| 2022 | 189 | 59 | 2,473 |
| 2021 | 224 | 80 | 4,842 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
128 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 87 days – 185 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 50 days (88 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 184 days
- Sample
- 86 articles with submission and acceptance dates (477 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 3–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,150 / EUR 3,470 / GBP 2,780 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1961
- ISSN
- 0017-8748
- Electronic ISSN
- 1526-4610
- Society / sponsor
- American Headache Society
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 66, Issue 8 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about HEADACHE
What CAS zone is HEADACHE in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, HEADACHE is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Clinical Neurology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of HEADACHE?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.83; CiteScore 6.5, h-index 185.
How long does peer review take at HEADACHE?
Based on the dates recorded on 86 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 128 days (interquartile range 87–185 days); authors report an average review time of 3–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index HEADACHE?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, HEADACHE is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is HEADACHE open access, and what is the APC?
HEADACHE is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,150.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .