[Spontaneous headaches among secondary school students]

The aim of the work was to evaluate the prevalence of headache in secondary school students. The methods of the study were based on the inquiry investigations of the students of 5 schools recruited randomly from 44 secondary schools in Lódź, following informed consent given by the School Supervision Authorities of the Lódź province, head-masters of the schools, parents, and by the students themselves. Personal questionnaires contained a number of questions referring to headaches that met the criteria of IHS Classification of Headaches. The students were inquired about localization of pains, their radiation, duration, frequency, time of occurrence (day or night), year and age of first onset of pains, associated symptoms, behaviour during pains, circumstances under which pains come on, family history relating to headaches. Headache subjects were then passed on for verification procedures consisting of questioning and physical examination. The results obtained were statistically elaborated basing on the independence chi-square test and F-Fisher's exact test. We studied 2351 students (1500 females, 851 males) aged 15-19 years. Headache in the past year was found in 2059 subjects: migraine in 511 (426 females, 85 males), of which 302 had migraine attacks more than once a month, and 67 had migrainous state; tension-type headache (T-TH) in 1346 (847 females, 499 males), of which 414 had headache more than 12 days per year; chronic T-TH in 21; mixed headache in 148 (113 females, 35 males). Mixed headache frequency was determined on the basis of migraine attacks. A total of 125 students reported more than 12 attacks. Sixteen subjects had migrainous state. Idiopathic stabbing headache occurred in 54 students (19 females, 35 males) of which 12 suffered from more than 12 attacks per year.