Migraine prevalence, clinical characteristics, and health care-seeking practice in a sample of medical students in Egypt

Primary headaches prevalence, characteristics, and healthcare utilization in Italian medical students

BACKGROUND

Among university students, migraine is notably prevalent and is linked to compromised academic performance and daily functioning. Medical students are a particularly vulnerable category due to the demanding nature of their training, as they are often exposed to headache trigger factors. We therefore aimed to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and healthcare-seeking practices of primary headaches among Italian medical students.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study among medical students attending the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome who completed a self-administered questionnaire designed following the International Classification of Headache Disorders-3 criteria. The questionnaire assessed sociodemographic and headache features, healthcare utilization, the use of symptomatic and preventive treatment, and headache trigger factors.

RESULTS

Five hundred thirty-six students filled out the questionnaire. The lifetime and last-year prevalence of headache in this cohort was 76.7% (n = 411). Among the students surveyed, migraine had a prevalence of 26.9%, probable migraine of 12.9%, and tension-type headache (TTH)/probable TTH of 36.9%. Two hundred and forty-six students (59.8%) reported that their headache worsened after starting university. All students reporting headache had at least one trigger factor. In students fulfilling the criteria for migraine (n = 144), 137 (95.1%) had previously used acute non-prescription treatments, and eight concurrently used a preventive treatment. Thirty-five students fulfilling the criteria for migraine underwent a brain MRI scan (24.3%), 43 performed a neurological evaluation (29.9%), 36 received a diagnosis of migraine (25%), and 20 (13.9%) accessed the emergency room.

DISCUSSION

Migraine and TTH are common among medical students in Italy despite low healthcare resource utilization. These results support the need to promote public health policies and strategies in order to reduce the disability and burden associated with primary headaches among medical students.

Prevalence, Characteristics, and Treatment Pattern of Menstrual-Related Headache Among Undergraduate Health Sciences Students at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

Background

Menstrual-related headache (MRH) is the most prevalent health condition among young females that limits productivity and social life. However, the magnitude of the problem and its characteristics have not been studied in Ethiopia.

Objective

This study aimed to assess the prevalence, characteristics, and treatment of MRH among undergraduate female students at the College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate female students from May to June 2023. A random sample of 1000 females were approached who fulfilled the eligibility criteria using the online electronic method. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participant characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the severity of pain. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 26. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

Of the 1000 students who approached online, 757 were included in the final analyses. The prevalence of MRH was (86, 11.4%) and 32.6% of them has experienced the headache before two to three days of menses. The median number of days of missed social activities and reduced productivity was three and one day, respectively. Being single was 6.24 times more likely to have severe MRH (AOR = 6.24, 95% CI: 2.73-14.26, p=0.001) and pharmacy students were less likely (AOR = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.16-0.61, p = 0.001) to have severe pain.

Conclusion

Our findings illustrated that MRH among young female students adversely affects students' productivity and social life. This demands interventions to reduce the impact and should pay attention in the future, particularly to create awareness to enhance screening and rendering various treatment options for the target population.

Headache-a challenge across medical students' life: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Headache is a disabling disease that affects psychosocial factors. Medical students are recognized to be more susceptible to psychological stress than other. Quantitative summaries of prevalence studies on this subject are limited. The aim of this study was to quantify and comprehend the variance in prevalence at the global and regional levels.

METHODS

We used a comprehensive search approach to find studies on headaches prevalence in the medical literature published between November 1990 and May 5, 2022. Database searched were PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. Studies that reported headaches (unspecified, migraine, or tension-type headache (TTH)) in medical students were included. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression were applied to investigate heterogeneity, with the risk of bias tool employed to assess study quality. PROSPERO number CRD42022321556 was assigned to the study protocol.

RESULTS

Out of 1561 studies, 79 were included. The pooled prevalence estimates of unspecified headache, migraine, and TTH were 70.44% (95% CI: 63.32-77.57), 18.9% (95% CI: 15.7-22.0), and 39.53% (95% CI: 31.17-47.90), respectively. TTH and migraine were more prevalent in Eastern Mediterranean and American region. TTH and migraine were less prevalent in higher income countries.

CONCLUSION

Although the prevalence of headaches among medical students varies in different countries, it is higher than the general population of the same age. Higher stressors and overwork in these students may contribute to this condition. The well-being of medical students should be a priority for the relevant authorities.

Prevalence, frequency, and disability of migraine headaches and tension headaches among the general population in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia

A tension-type headache (TTH) is a recurrent headache that is mild to moderate in intensity, unlike migraine (MH), which is accompanied by crippling effects of nausea, vomiting, photophobia, or phonophobia. TTH is more frequent than migraine, but it is less likely to cause severe pain and physical dysfunction. TTHs account for more lost workdays due to their prevalence. The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, frequency, and disability of MHs and TTHs among the general population in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was employed using a validated questionnaire. The questionnaire implemented the HARDSHIP algorithm to diagnose MH and TTH and questions to correlate their prevalence to socio-demographic data, measurement of the level of disability, headache management, and treatment effectiveness using the chi-square test. The study reviewed 877 subjects (46.6% males vs. 53.4% females). 52.9% of the participants experienced headaches during the previous three months, and 35.6% experienced headaches recently. The most common type of headache was a probable MH (32.1%), followed by a TTH (26.9%), probable TTH (19.5%), and MH (15%). It was reported that some disability was attributed to 47% of MHs and 26% of TTHs. The most commonly used headache medication was paracetamol (53.5%). This study revealed that TTH and MH are common illnesses in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Region. TTH and MH are correlated with significant individual and social burdens, particularly for MH. Headache sufferers mostly manage their headaches using conventional over-the-counter methods.

Prevalence and risk factors of migraine headache among university students: A cross-sectional study in Lebanon

Background Migraine constitutes a major public health concern since it negatively affects both the quality of life and the productivity of patients. Migraine among students can cause impaired academic performance and limit their daily activities. Objective This study aims to assess the prevalence of migraine among university students using the ID Migraine screening tool and to evaluate risk factors associated with migraine. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed over a period of six months targeting 1144 university students recruited from the different faculties. Results Migraine was suggested in 35.8% of subjects based on ID-Migraine. Migraine prevalence was significantly higher among women (42% versus 23.3% of men). After adjusting for covariates, women, daily coffee consumption, having unorganized meals, eating fast food and fasting were the main predictors of migraine.  Almost 41% of migraine students had a family history of migraine and only 26.7% sought medical help. Interestingly, most of the migraine students (84.8%) took headache medications without referring them to their doctor. Conclusion Recognizing headache risk factors among migraine students and adopting lifestyle changes accordingly can be an effective strategy to prevent the chronification of the attacks, decrease headache frequency and improve patients’ quality of life.

Migraine and tension-type headache among undergraduate medical, dental and pharmaceutical students of University of Aleppo: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

Headache disorders are among the most common 10 causes of disability worldwide according to the global burden of disease survey 2010. Headache is also wildly common among universities students when compared with other populations. The purpose of this study is to assess headache prevalence among Aleppo University medical, dental and pharmaceutical undergraduate students.

Methods

A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among medical, dental and pharmaceutical students at Aleppo University, Syria. We determined the type of headache according to the International Classification of Headache Disorder-III. The total number of participants was 2068. A χ² test was used to evaluate the association between the categorical outcomes. P<0.05 was considered significant.

Results

Out of 2068 participants, 1604 (77.6%) were medical students, 205 (9.9%) were dental students and 259 (12.5%) were pharmaceutical students. The effect on daily activities was higher in chronic tension headache (96.7%) and migraine without aura (94.6%) than migraine with aura (91.3) and episodic tension headache (85.1%). Out of 1191 who had a headache, only 188 (15.9%) had a medical consultation.

Conclusions

There was no a statistically significant difference in prevalence of tension headache and migraine according to faculties. There was a statistically significant difference in patients with migraine according to academic year, living with family and smoking. The effect on daily activities was higher in chronic tension-type headache and migraine without aura. There is a significant lack of medical consultation among students and most of them took over the counter analgesics depending on personal choice.