Prevalence and impact of headache and migraine among secondary school students in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: A cross-sectional descriptive study to determine the overall, age and gender specific prevalence, trigger factors and impact of headache and migraine on quality of life of students attending secondary schools in Benin City, Nigeria.

METHODS: Six secondary schools were randomly selected from which students were randomly selected. A self-administered questionnaire was used to screen those with frequent headache, defined as at least 2 episodes of headache unrelated to fever or any underlying disease within the last 12 months or at least 1 episode in the last 6 months preceding the date questionnaire was administered. Another questionnaire based on the ICHD-2 criteria for diagnosis of migraine was then administered to those with frequent headaches. Data analysis was with SPSS 13.0 for Windows.

RESULTS: One thousand six hundred and seventy-nine students aged 11-18 years were recruited. The overall prevalence of headache was 19.5%. The prevalence of migraine was 13.5%. Migraine was more common in girls than in boys at all ages. The most common trigger factors included emotional stress, sunlight or bright light, sleep deprivation, and hunger. Inability to participate in outdoor activities, household chores, and school absenteeism were the common impacts on the quality of life of among 76.8% of the migraineurs.

CONCLUSION: Migraine is common and underdiagnosed among secondary school students in Benin City, Nigeria, and negatively impacts on the quality of life including school absenteeism.