Prevalence and Pain Intensity of Migraine among Medical and Non-Medical University Students in Karachi: A Cross-Sectional Study
Migraine in University Students
Keywords:
Headache, Migraine, PainAbstract
Background: Headache is one of the most common complaints in patients and affects students at the University in multiple ways, including impairing efficiency, social functioning, and overall quality of life. This study aimed at identifying the migraine conditions in undergraduate medical and non-medical students.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, including 377 undergraduates, on the basis of non-probability convenience sampling techniques. Those who had migraines were included in the study. ID questionnaire and Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) were distributed in different medical and non-medical universities in Karachi, Pakistan. The analysis was conducted with the SPSS Version 23.0 package that presents data in frequencies and percentages.
Results: A total of 57.3% participants complained of nausea at the time of headache, while 56.8% of cases reported moderate pain.
Conclusion: The study highlighted a relatively greater prevalence of migraine headaches among female students compared to their male counterparts. It further established that participants experienced a significant reduction in their capacity to accomplish their daily work and study while suffering from migraine episodes. Thus, it suggests the need to address migraine-related concerns among students, particularly in the academic environment, to improve the well-being and performance of students as a whole.
References
Farouk Mahmoud S, Mohamed Ahmed Z. Migraine Knowledge, Lifestyle Habits, and Disability Level among Medical and Non-Medical Students. Egyptian Journal of Health Care. 2022 Mar 1;13(1):612-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21608/EJHC.2022.220361
Zhao J, Guo LX, Li HR, Gou XY, Liu XB, Zhang Y, Zhong DL, Li YX, Zheng Z, Li J, Feng Y. The effects of acupuncture therapy in migraine: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2023 Jan 27;16:1097450. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.1097450
Safiri S, Pourfathi H, Eagan A, Mansournia MA, Khodayari MT, Sullman MJ, Kaufman J, Collins G, Dai H, Bragazzi NL, Kolahi AA. Global, regional, and national burden of migraine in 204 countries and territories, 1990 to 2019. Pain. 2022 Feb 1;163(2):e293-309. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002275
Steiner TJ, Stovner LJ. Global epidemiology of migraine and its implications for public health and health policy. Nature Reviews Neurology. 2023 Feb;19(2):109-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-022-00763-1
Agosti R. Migraine burden of disease: From the patient's experience to a socio‐economic view. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain. 2018 May;58:17-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/head.13301
Alharbi AA, Alharbi SH, Albalawi AM, Alshdokhi AM, Alanazi WA, Alsiraa MN, Alkhrisi MH, Al-Ostaz SA, Al-Harbi DA, Alruwaili RM. Migraine among medical and non-medical students of Hail University. The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine. 2018 Apr 1;71(6):3343-50.
Desouky DE, Zaid HA, Taha AA. Migraine, tension-type headache, and depression among Saudi female students in Taif University. Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association. 2019 Dec;94(1):1-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s42506-019-0008
Vacca Jr VM. Migraine in adults: a head start. Nursing2022. 2019 May 1;49(5):22-9.
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000554607.72406.6e
Wang X, Zhou HB, Sun JM, Xing YH, Zhu YL, Zhao YS. The prevalence of migraine in university students: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. European journal of neurology. 2016 Mar;23(3):464-75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.12784.
Capi M, Gentile G, Lionetto L, Salerno G, Cipolla F, Curto M, Borro M, Martelletti P. Pharmacogenetic considerations for migraine therapies. Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology. 2018 Nov 2;14(11):1161-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17425255.2018
Luedtke K, Starke W, Korn KV, Szikszay TM, Schwarz A, May A. Neck treatment compared to aerobic exercise in migraine: A preference-based clinical trial. Cephalalgia Reports. 2020 Jun 10;3:2515816320930681. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2515816320930681
Munoz-Gomez E, Inglés M, Serra-Ano P, Espí-López GV. Effectiveness of a manual therapy protocol based on articulatory techniques in migraine patients. A randomized controlled trial. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice. 2021 Aug 1;54:102386. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msksp.2021.102386
Davidson I, Crooks K, Newington L, Pilling M, Todd C. Assessing the feasibility of mobilisation of C0–C3 cervical segments to reduce headache in migraineurs. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation. 2018 Aug 2;25(8):382-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12968/ijtr.2018.25.8.382
Rafi A, Shahriar T, Arafat Y, Karmaker A, Chowdhury SK, Jahangir B, Hossain M, Sultana M, Hossain MG. Prevalence of Migraine and its associated factors among medical students of Bangladesh: A cross sectional study. medRxiv. 2021 Sep 8:2021-09. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.04.21263129
Oraby MI, Soliman RH, Mahmoud MA, Elfar E, Abd ElMonem NA. Migraine prevalence, clinical characteristics, and health care-seeking practice in a sample of medical students in Egypt. The Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery. 2021 Dec;57(1):1-9.
Csépány É, Tóth M, Gyüre T, Magyar M, Bozsik G, Bereczki D, Juhász G, Ertsey C. The validation of the Hungarian version of the ID-migraine questionnaire. The journal of headache and pain. 2018 Dec;19:1-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-018-0938-z
de Paula Gomes CA, Politti F, de Souza Bacelar Pereira C, da Silva AC, Dibai-Filho AV, de Oliveira AR, Biasotto-Gonzalez DA. Exercise program combined with electrophysical modalities in subjects with knee osteoarthritis: A randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2020 Dec;21(1):1-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-020-03684-7
Laurent Q, Michel-Cherqui M, Szekely B, Glorion M, Sage E, Trichereau J, Fischler M, Fessler J, Le Guen M. Prevalence, characteristics and preoperative predictors of chronic pain after double-lung transplantation: a prospective cohort study. Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. 2022 Feb 1;36(2):500-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1053/j.jvca.2021.07.041
Young IA, Dunning J, Butts R, Mourad F, Cleland JA. Reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness of the neck disability index and numeric pain rating scale in patients with mechanical neck pain without upper extremity symptoms. Physiotherapy theory and practice. 2019 Dec 2;35(12):1328-35. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2018.1471763
Almalki D, Shubair MM, Al-Khateeb BF, Obaid Alshammari RA, Alshahrani SM, Aldahash R, Angawi K, Alsalamah M, Al-Zahrani J, Al-Ghamdi S, Al-Zahrani HS. The Prevalence of Headache and Associated Factors in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia: 2021 Mar 4; 2021.
Ibrahim NK, Alotaibi AK, Alhazmi AM, Alshehri RZ, Saimaldaher RN, Murad MA. Prevalence, predictors and triggers of migraine headache among medical students and interns in King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Pakistan journal of medical sciences. 2017; 33(2):270. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.332.12139
Alkarrash MS, Shashaa MN, Kitaz MN, Rhayim R, Alhasan MM, Alassadi M, Aldakhil A, Alkhamis M, Ajam M, Douba M, Banjah B. Migraine and tension-type headache among undergraduate medical, dental and pharmaceutical students of University of Aleppo: 2021; 3(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjno-2021-000211
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ulfat Munaf, Fouzia Husaain, Saman Habib, Ahad Hasan, Nisha Rafique, Abid Gill

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.






