Background: Headaches are important in childhood and ranks third among illness-related causes of school absenteeism. Previous studies have been limited to children in clinics or smaller community populations. This study was done to compare the prevalence of self-perceived and observed risk factors for headache among adolescents.
Methodology: Adolescents aged between 14 and 20 years, from the first and third grades of high schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, answered questionnaires about headaches and potential risk factors regarding stress, lifestyle, and muscle pain.
Results: A total of 1,000 students aged between 14 and 20 years old completed the survey. More than half of the participants (55%) were males. Regarding the type of headache, 30% were migraine, 25% were tension-type headache, 23% were a miscellaneous headache, and 22% were co-existing migraine plus tension-type headache. The prevalence ratios between recognized risk factors and self-perceived for headache proposed overestimation of the effect of stress.
Conclusion: Headaches are common among Saudi students, and more prevalent among male students. They are mainly associated with stress.
Key words: Risk factors, adolescents, triggers, headaches
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