Abstract

QUESTIONNAIRE BASED STUDY ON PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS AND DISABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH PRIMARY HEADACHE DISORDERS

Dr. Nazish Fathima*, Jisna Babu, Juby Bensen, Judy Thomas and Lini Raju

Abstract

Background: Headache is one of the most prevalent disorder of the nervous system. Headache can be primary or secondary. Primary headache exists independently and are not accompanied by any other medical condition. In majority of suffering populations the disease remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. There is an increased incidence of headache that probably lies in lifestyle and/ or environment factors and hence the quality of life is affected in individuals with headache due to the negligence of this condition. Objective: To analyse the prevalence, risk factors and disability of types of primary headache. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted as prospective observational study on 150 individuals with primary headache. The study was conducted among the students and faculties of Bapuji Pharmacy College and Bapuji Dental College, Davangere, for a period of 6 months. Results: 78% of females and 22% of males suffered from primary headache. The mean age group was found to be 23.48± 4.83. 58% of subjects were identified with Tension-type headache, followed by Migraine 36.7% and Cluster headache 1.3%. Conclusion: Tension type headache was the most prevalent type of primary headache and was most frequently seen in females. The commonly identified risk factors were stress, sunlight, sound, lack of sleep and skipping meals.

Keywords: Primary Headache; Migraine; Tension-Type Headache; Cluster Headache.