Prevalence of migraine and co-morbid psychiatric disorders among students of Cumhuriyet University.

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of migraine and associated psychiatric disorders among university students at Cumhuriyet University of Sivas in Turkey.

METHODS

A total of 1601 university students participated in this study and answered the questionnaires. The study was conducted in three stages: the self-questionnaire, the neurological evaluation, and the psychiatric evaluation. In the first stage, the subjects completed a questionnaire to assess migraine symptoms. In the second stage, the subjects who reported having migraines underwent a detailed neurological evaluation conducted by a neurologist to confirm the diagnosis. In the final stage, the subjects with migraines completed a psychiatric examination using the structured clinical interview for DSM IV-R Axis I.

RESULTS

The self-reported migraine prevalence rate was 13.7%, and the actual prevalence rate of migraine among the university students was calculated to be 10.6% (n=169). When the results obtained with the SCID-I were examined, a current SCID-I psychiatric diagnosis was found in 39 (23.1%) of the 169 subjects with migraines. A total of 73 (43.2%) students with migraines had a lifetime SCID-I psychiatric diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study indicate that migraines were highly prevalent among university students in Turkey with comorbid psychiatric disorders. Treatment strategies must be developed to manage these comorbidities.