Primary headaches prevalence, characteristics, and healthcare utilization in Italian medical students.
Epidemiology
Medical students
Migraine
Prevalence
Tension-type headache
Journal
Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
ISSN: 1590-3478
Titre abrégé: Neurol Sci
Pays: Italy
ID NLM: 100959175
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
12 Feb 2024
12 Feb 2024
Historique:
received:
05
01
2024
accepted:
29
01
2024
medline:
12
2
2024
pubmed:
12
2
2024
entrez:
11
2
2024
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
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. 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. 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. 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.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
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
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
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
CONCLUSIONS
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.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38342838
doi: 10.1007/s10072-024-07375-1
pii: 10.1007/s10072-024-07375-1
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Informations de copyright
© 2024. Fondazione Società Italiana di Neurologia.
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