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Published on: June 2, 2014
Frequency of headache and migraine in Qatar
1Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. abener@hmc.org.qa
Background:
Headache is a worldwide problem that affects all ages. To date there are no epidemiological data regarding headaches in Qatar.
Aim:
The aim of this study was to use the International Headache Society (IHS) diagnostic criteria to estimate the prevalence of migraine and headache in an adult population.
Design:
This is a cross-sectional population-based study.
Setting:
The study was carried out at 12 Primary Health Care Centers during the period from October to December 2004 in Qatar.
Subjects:
Of the 1,200 subjects who were approached to participate in this study, 913 gave their consent, representing a response rate of 76.1%.
Methods:
Subjects were selected by a multistage stratified sampling procedure. We used the IHS criteria for migraine. Face-to-face interviews were based on a questionnaire that included variables such as age, sex, socioeconomic status, lifestyle habits, exacerbating factors, warning symptoms, associated features, family history and associated factors.
Results:
Of the studied subjects, 54.9% were males and 45.1% females. The prevalence of headache and migraine among men was 67.9%, 7.8%, and among women 78.2%, 8.0%, respectively. Subjects aged 25-34 years had higher prevalence of headache comparing to other age groups (27.3%). Prevalence of headache was higher in women. Subjects with less than a high school education had higher frequency of headache (49.1%). The most common warning symptoms prior to headache were abnormal vision (53.0%) and weakness (30.4%). Stress (71.8%) and weather (49.5%) made headache worse in subjects. The majority of the headache sufferers looked for a dark (33.7%) and quiet place (74.5%) to rest.
Conclusion:
Headachedisorders constitute a public health problem in a newly developed Qatari society, due to fast urbanization. More women suffered from headache and migraine than men. The study revealed that there was a strong association between hemoglobin level and headache and its severity. Furthermore, the prevalence of headache and migraine in Qatar is higher than in Western and African countries.
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