The Prevalence of Migraine and Tension-Type Headache Among Schoolchildren in Kayseri, Turkey

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the prevalence as well as psychosocial and demographic features of migraine and tension-type headache among school children between the ages of 7 and 17, and using the International Classification of Headache Disorders II. The study was conducted during the questionnaire phase and the interview phase. The prevalence of recurrent headache was 47.5%, whereas that of primary recurrent headache was 21%. The estimated prevalence rates of migraine and tension-type headache were 7.2% and 7.8%, respectively. Unilateral headache, throbbing-type headache, severe headache, and the severity of the headache with physical activity were specific for migraine. Headache was significantly higher in first-degree relatives of the children with migraine compared to the children with tension-type headache (P < .0001). We determined the prevalence rates of migraine and tension-type headache and revealed the characteristics as well as the psychosocial and demographic features of migraine and tension-type headache. Sensitivity, specificity, and multivariate analysis were also evaluated.

Clinical characteristics of headache in Italian adolescents aged 11–16 years: a cross-sectional questionnaire school-based study

“…Finally, adolescent girls take more analgesics and recur to self-medication more frequently than male peers, while only 17.9% of them are treated following a physician’s advice. Analogous results have been reported in past studies [ 7 , 30 ]. This findings may be essential to delineate better prevention strategies and underline the importance of promoting behavioral therapies, environmental hygiene and comorbidities management in adolescents with headache, particularly in girls.…”

“…This is in line with the results of recent Italian multicenter and single-center studies [ 3 , 11 ], and several international publications showing an increment of the lifetime prevalence of headache from 47.2% in children 7–9 years old to 69.5% in those 13–15 years old [ 15 , 27 – 29 ]. Other studies have shown a later onset [ 7 , 30 ], but this is probably attributable to different geographical and methodological factors. In their population-based study in Croatian adolescents, Cvetković and colleagues evidenced a significant older age at headache onset in girls with respect to male peers [ 7 ].…”

“…In almost two thirds of the cases, headache occurs during school period and school/study represents the most common reported trigger factor in both sexes, followed by emotional stress. The literature reports a wide relationship between school issues and headache frequency, duration and intensity: notably, headache appears to be related to worries about performance, marks and promotions [ 3 , 30 ].…”

Prevalence of headaches in children in schools: the case of primary schools in Libreville

“…Our results are comparable to those reported by Poyraglu et al [22] who showed 21.0% of primary headaches and a predominance of secondary headaches.…”

Undifferentiated headache: broadening the approach to headache in children and adolescents, with supporting evidence from a nationwide school-based cross-sectional survey in Turkey

“…In previous epidemiological studies of headache in children and adolescents, we were interested in whether authors classified headache in every participant who screened positively for headache or, instead, selectively reported cases fulfilling any specific set of ICHD diagnostic criteria. To clarify this, we re-reviewed all 50 studies included in the most recent review [ 10 ] and nine later studies focusing on TTH identified in a literature search up to April 2016 [ 11 , 26 – 33 ]. Only five of the 59 studies reliably reported headache that was not classifiable by ICHD criteria [ 11 – 15 ], with prevalences of 2.9–35.5% (mean 18.3 ± 14.1) but with participation proportions ranging between 54.0% and 98.3% (mean 76.2 ± 19.8).…”