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

Alkarrash, Mohamad Shadi; Shashaa, Mohammad Nour; Kitaz, Mohammad Nour; Rhayim, Roaa; Alhasan, Mahmoud Mohamad; Alassadi, Maya; Aldakhil, Ahmad; Alkhamis, Mohamad; Ajam, Mohanad; Douba, M.; Banjah, Bashar; Ismail, Ahmad Faisal; Zazo, Aya; Zazo, Rama; Abdul-Wahab, M. S.; Alkhamis, Ali A.; Arab, Abdullah; Alameen, Mohammad Homam; Farfouti, M. Taher

doi:10.1136/bmjno-2021-000211

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Only 23.7% of study participants reportedly sought medical advice. These results were in line with other previous studies published around the world [ 14 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. For instance, Alkarrash et al found that, among undergraduate students at the University of Aleppo, 15.9% sought medical attention [ 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

“…These results were in line with other previous studies published around the world [ 14 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. For instance, Alkarrash et al found that, among undergraduate students at the University of Aleppo, 15.9% sought medical attention [ 35 ]. Similarly, Panigrahi et al reported that 10% of undergraduate students seek medical treatment for headache relief [ 33 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

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Assessment of Headache Characteristics, Impact, and Managing Techniques among Pharmacy and Nursing Undergraduates—An Observational Study

et al. 2023

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Background and Objectives: Many different forms of headaches can change or impact daily activity and quality of life, which increases the financial burden on society over time. Undergraduates who get headaches may be absent from attending lectures, perform less well on their daily tasks and academic achievement, as well as struggle to build and maintain relationships with peers and mentors. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the headache-related characteristics and managing approaches among Saudi pharmacy and nursing students at a Saudi university, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A survey questionnaire was administered in this cross-sectional study to participants at a Saudi university, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants included males. The sample size was calculated with Raosoft® software. Data analysis was executed using IBM Statistic SPSS, and the level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 236 participants completed the questionnaires. The majority, i.e., 218 (92.4%) of them, were male; in addition, 124 (52.5%) were aged between 26 and 30, 124 (52.5%) were pharmacy students, 112 (47.5%) were nursing students, and 134 (56.8%) were smokers. When asked about ever having at least one episode of headache during the week, 66.1% (n = 156) agreed that they had one episode of headache, although 57 (24.2%) of the students had a headache for five days during a week. With regard to the impact of headaches on everyday activities, only 34.7% of the students said that headache disrupted their regular activities. Almost 41% of the students agreed that headache impacted their academic performance. Nearly 34% of students (n = 79) who had headaches considered napping, while 33% (n = 64) took painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicines, and 25% (n = 59) considered taking caffeine. In this study, the participants’ ages and headache severity were strongly associated (p = 0.0001). More pharmacy students (66.1%) reported having severe headaches than nursing students (14.3%) (p = 0.0001). Conclusions: The current findings revealed that most of the undergraduates suffered from headaches, and the intensity of the pain was moderate; furthermore, one in four undergraduates reported that headaches impacted their academic performance. Caffeine and simple analgesics and anti-inflammatories were used for headache relief.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Assessment of Headache Characteristics, Impact, and Managing Techniques among Pharmacy and Nursing Undergraduates—An Observational Study

et al. 2023

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“…Another study on medical students reported that 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%) [25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Prevalence of Tension-Type Headache among Medical Students in Tabuk University, Saudi Arabia

Mirghani

Altemani

Alharthi

et al. 2021

JPRI

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Background: Headaches disorders have a significant burden on the world. Tension Type Headache is the most common type among primary headaches. Since medical students are exposed to a lot of stress, and it is associated with a tension-type headache, the importance of this study comes. This study aims to measure the prevalence of tension-type headache among medical students at Tabuk University 2020. Methodology: A cross-sectional study in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia was conducted. The study included medical students at the University of Tabuk in the academic years from 2nd to 6th grades during the calendar year of 2020. An adapted semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was retrieved from other validated questionnaires. The internal validity and reliability of the questionnaire were tested using Cronbach's alpha test and was highly reliable (25 items, α = .715). Both medical and research experts assessed the face and content validity. The data were coded, tabulated, and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 27). Results: The total number of the students was 380 (response rate, 78.6%). 55.22% were females, and 44.78% were males their mean age was 21.18 ± SD 1.78 years. Out of the 297 students, only 122 met the diagnostic criteria. The 1-year prevalence Tension Type Headache (TTH) included the three types: frequent TTH 67.2%, 18.0% infrequent TTH, and only 14.8% suffered from chronic TTH. The most common aggravating factors included studying stressors (82%), 68% of the participants reported daily activity interference, and 48.4% reported that headache aggravate with routine physical activities (e.g., walking or climbing stairs). The headache quality varied between throbbing/pulsating (54.9%), pressing/tightening (68.9%) and sharp/stabbing (10.7%). The median headache intensity was 5.25 at pain level score (IQR =2). Only 28% of the students sought counseling where the main analgesic used was Acetaminophen (74%). Many non-pharmacological therapies were practiced by the students to relieve headache, including sleep (60.7%), rest (63.1%) and caffeine (41.8%).23% of the medical students reported that they sought medical counseling to maintain their performance level. There was a statistically significant difference between the average age of medical students suffering from frequent and infrequent TTH, t(102) = 2.31, p = .023. Conclusion: Tension-type headache is a prevalent type of headache among Saudi medical students. Prevalence and aggravating factors in our study were comparable to previously reported literature. Future studies with large sample size may be required among all university students to define burden of the case in Saudi Arabia.

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“…The prevalence of TTH was found to be 40.3% in the current study within the global prevalence rate of 12%-78%. 22 Studies from Syria, 23 Turkey, 24 and Nigeria 25 reported much lower prevalence while another study from Saudi Arabia showed a similar prevalence. 26 For TTH, no significant difference was with age, sex, year of study, and staying with the hostel, which is supported by findings of Alkarrash et al, 23 Syria.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Prevalence of migraine and tension‐type headache among undergraduate medical students of Kathmandu Valley: A cross‐sectional study

Shrestha

Karki

Thapa

et al. 2022

Health Science Reports

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Background Headache is the most prevalent neurological symptom which can be of a serious condition, as in brain tumor, but mostly it is a benign condition that includes primary headache such as migraine or tension‐type headache (TTH). Migraine reoccurs frequently and is more severe but owing to the high prevalence of TTH, however, impaired quality of life due to TTH is greater than that of migraine at the population level. Medical students are constantly subjected to stress and in such a condition, it was necessary to find out the burden of headache among medical students. This cross‐sectional study done among medical students aims to generate some data and literature which will change the outlook of stakeholders towards headache disorders among medical students. Methods This cross‐sectional study is based upon Headache Screening Questionnaire—English Version questionnaire based upon the ICHD‐3 beta criteria. Medical students of Kathmandu valley were sampled by using convenient sampling and data were collected. Data were refined in Microsoft Excel and imported to SPSS 20 for analysis. Results A total of 352 individuals were part of this study, out of which 229 (65.1%) were males and 123 (34.9%) were females with a mean age of 21.72 ± 1.601 years (mean ± SD). Prevalence of migraine and TTH was found to be 15.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.7%–19.3%) and 40.3% (95% CI: 34.9–45.2), respectively. Through multivariate binomial regression, it was observed that the odds of being diagnosed with migraine increased with age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.266 [1.013–1.583], p = 0.038), females had twice the odds of experiencing migraine headaches compared to males (AOR = 2.119 [1.074–4.180], p = 0.03), and medical students who stayed at the hostel were at lesser odds of experiencing migraine headache (AOR = 2.772 [1.501–5.118], p = 0.01). Conclusion Prevalence of migraine and TTH among undergraduate medical students was found to be 15.3% and 40.3%, respectively.

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

Cited by 16 publications

References 21 publications

Assessment of Headache Characteristics, Impact, and Managing Techniques among Pharmacy and Nursing Undergraduates—An Observational Study

Assessment of Headache Characteristics, Impact, and Managing Techniques among Pharmacy and Nursing Undergraduates—An Observational Study

Prevalence of Tension-Type Headache among Medical Students in Tabuk University, Saudi Arabia

Prevalence of migraine and tension‐type headache among undergraduate medical students of Kathmandu Valley: A cross‐sectional study

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