Prevalence and Characteristics of Headache Among Medical Students in Egypt: A Multicentric Cross Sectional Study
Rashad G. Mohamed1, Khalid Sarhan2, Basma Kamel2, Rahma Mahmoud2, Eslam Fouda2, Sara Bioumy3, Doaa Al emam4, Mostafa Meshref5, Ahmed Negida6
1Mansoura Manchester Program for Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt, 2Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt, 3Neuropsychiatry specialist, Alexandria University, Egypt, 4Assistant professor of public health at Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt, 5Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 6Virginia Commonwealth University
Objective:
This multicentric study aims to identify prevalence and characteristics of different types of headaches among medical students in Egypt and how it affects their daily activities.
Background:
Headaches are one of the most common neurological disorders, ranging in severity from a mild discomfort to a severe, debilitating condition. Headaches are particularly prevalent among medical students, which can be attributed to various factors such as psychological stressors, inadequate sleep, and unhealthy eating habits.
Design/Methods:
A multicentric, descriptive online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students in 5 governmental faculties of medicine in Egypt from November 2022 to March 2023. A stratified random sampling method was used to select 600 students to participate in this study. The prevalence of TTH and Migraine was calculated, and the clinical characteristics associated with them were also studied
Results:
Analysis was done on 493 responses; the prevalence of headache disorder was 264 (53.5%) with TTH frequent episodic being the highest 89 (33.7%) while TTH chronic and migraine with aura were the least prevalent accounting for 10 (3.7%) and 31 (11.7%) respectively. The percentage of headache in general was higher in females (69.4%) than males (44.4%). A positive family history was found in 120 (45.5%) of students with headache. Lack of sleep and stress were the most frequently reported potential triggers for headaches. Out of 264 medical students, only 55 students (20.8%) had a medical consultation while most students (64.8%) took over the counter medications.
Conclusions:
Frequent and infrequent TTH are the most common types of headaches among medical students followed by migraine types. There was a statistical difference in patients according to sex, faculty, academic year and living conditions. Most students take over the counter medications, so lack of medical consultation is a serious problem that must be solved