Prevalence of primary headache among medical students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

Background:

Headache is among the commonest complaints in medical students; it could be due to many physical or psychological stressors. It has two main types: primary (including tension-type, migraine, and cluster) and secondary. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of headache among male and female medical students.

Materials and Methods:

This study was conducted at KSAU-HS, COM, in January 2018. Third- and fourth-year medical students from both genders who have experienced headache throughout their life or are experiencing it for the past 3 months were included in this study. All medical students completed filling the questionnaire, which consisted of demographical data, headache characteristics and triggers, and associated symptoms.

Results:

A total of 264 [150 (56.81%) males and 114 (43.19%) females] students were evaluated. The prevalence of headache was 53.78%, and the prevalence of tension-type headache was 41.66%. The prevalence of migraine headache was 7.1%. Only one case of cluster headache was detected. Those who did not fit the criteria for the primary types were categorized as unspecified headache. The prevalence of unspecified headache was 3.78%.

Conclusion:

We can conclude from the study that tension-type headache is commonly reported in medical students. It is imperative to provide a stress-free study environment where students can perform more effectively, and sessions on how to reduce stress and alleviate fatigue are highly recommended.

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Most cited references 8

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Prevalence and clinical characteristics of headache in medical students of the University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Frank I Ojini, H M Danesi, N U Okubadejo (2009)

We investigated the 1-year prevalence, clinical features and mode of treatment of headache in medical students of the University of Lagos, Nigeria, using a self-administered headache questionnaire. Headache prevalence was 46.0% and was significantly higher in women than in men (62.8% vs. 34.1%). Prevalence of tension-type headache was higher than that of migraine (18.1% vs. 6.4%). Although tension-type headache had a similar prevalence in both sexes (male 17.3%, female 19.2%), migraine was three times more common in women (10.9% vs. 3.2%). A family history of headache was present in 22.0%. Only 4.6% sought medical assistance, whereas 68.2% took non-prescription drugs, mainly simple analgesics. Specific drugs for migraine and tension-type headache were rarely used. In conclusion, 1-year headache prevalence is high among medical students at this university. The low consultation rate and the rarity of usage of specific anti-headache drugs probably reflect inadequacies in the management of primary headaches in this population.

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Negative impact of episodic migraine on a university population: quality of life, functional impairment, and comorbid psychiatric symptoms.

T B Smitherman, Kathryn Buchanan, Hugh McDermott (2011)

Migraine is associated with significant negative impact, including reduced quality of life, impaired functioning, and comorbid psychiatric disorders. However, the impact of migraine on university students is understudied, despite their high prevalence of migraine and psychiatric disorders and their frequent use in research studies. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the impact of migraine among college students on quality of life, functional impairment, and comorbid psychiatric symptoms. Three hundred and ninety-one students (76.73% female, mean age = 19.43 ± 2.80 years) completed well-validated measures of migraine and migraine-related disability, quality of life, and comorbid psychiatric symptoms. They also quantified impairment in school attendance and home functioning and reported the number of medical visits during the preceding 3 months. One hundred and one (25.83%) met conservative screening criteria for episodic migraine; their mean score on the Migraine Disability Assessment Questionnaire was 9.98 ± 12.10. Compared to those not screening positive for migraine, the migraine-positive group reported reduced quality of life on 5 of 6 domains, as well as a higher frequency of missed school days (2.74 vs 1.36), impaired functioning at home (2.84 vs 1.21 days), and medical visits (1.86 vs 0.95). They also reported more symptoms of both depression and anxiety than controls, although differences in functional impairment remained after controlling for these comorbid psychiatric symptoms. These differences were highly statistically significant and corroborated by evidence of clinically significant impairment; the corresponding effect sizes were modest but non-trivial. Episodic migraine is associated with negative impact in numerous domains among university students. These findings replicate and extend those of studies on other samples and have implications for future research studies with this population. © 2011 American Headache Society.

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Prevalence and clinical characteristics of headache among medical students, Isfahan, Iran

Abbas Ghorbani, Seyed-Mojtaba Abtahi, Mahboobeh Fereidan-Esfahani … (2013)

Background: Headache is one of the most common complaints during medical curriculum and it occurs due to numerous psychological and physical stressors, which are more common in medical students than general population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of different types of headache and associated factors. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, from September 2011 to January 2012. First- to seven-year medical students who have experienced some forms of headache in their life and had headache attacks during the past 6 months were included in this study. All medical students completed a structured check list, which consisted of demographics data, associated factors, and headache characteristics. Results: A total of 480 (258 [53.8%] males and 222 [46.2%] females) students (93.7%) were evaluated. The prevalence of headache was 58.7%, the prevalence of migraine, and tension-type headache was 14.2% (10.5% in male vs. 18.5% in female, P = 0.08) and 44.2% (49.2% in male vs. 39.2% in female, P = 0.006), respectively. A family positive history was found in 9.5% of students with headache. The lower socio-economic status, year of study (3rd and 5th year students), was seemed to had higher prevalence in students with headache. There was no significant difference between headache and concomitant disease. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that prevalence of headache is high among medical student. Socio-economic and the year of study might be significant factors in the prevalence of headache. Further multicenter studies would be necessary to evaluate headache epidemiology among medical students in the whole country.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Family Med Prim Care

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J Family Med Prim Care

Journal ID (publisher-id): JFMPC

Title: Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care

Publisher: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )

ISSN (Print): 2249-4863

ISSN (Electronic): 2278-7135

Publication date (Print): Nov-Dec 2018

Volume: 7

Issue: 6

Pages: 1193-1196

Affiliations

[1 ] King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Author notes

Address for correspondence: Dr. Ibrahim S. Almesned, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: Ibrahimalmesned5@ 123456gmail.com

Article

Publisher ID: JFMPC-7-1193

DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_240_18

PMC ID: 6293931

PubMed ID: 30613496

SO-VID: 03b79f67-0677-4e42-9f18-1cf39d8ca815

License:

This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

Prevalence of primary headache among medical students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

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Most cited references 8

Prevalence and clinical characteristics of headache in medical students of the University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Negative impact of episodic migraine on a university population: quality of life, functional impairment, and comorbid psychiatric symptoms.

Prevalence and clinical characteristics of headache among medical students, Isfahan, Iran

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