Sanya E O, Desalu O O, Aderibigbe S A, Kolo P M, Mustapha A F, Adeyanju O A
Department of Medicine, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
Niger J Clin Pract. 2017 Nov;20(11):1411-1416. doi: 10.4103/njcp.njcp_383_16.
Headache is a common chronic neurologic disorder with huge economic and psychosocial impact. In comparison with other neurological disorders, there is limited data on primary headache, especially from sub-Saharan Africa. This study was done to fill in the gap and provide recent information on headache among Nigerian undergraduate students.
Quota sampling was used to select students from three tertiary educational institutions within Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state. Two-stage self-administered questionnaires developed from the guideline of the International Society of Headache were used to harvest information.
A total of 1500 students participated in the study. The mean age of the students was 20.9 ± 3.1 years, with male:female ratio of 1.6:1. A total of 356 students have frequent headache within previous 1 year, given the headache frequency of 23.7%. Fifty-three students (3.5%) had headaches on almost daily basis, 84 (5.6%) had ≥4 attacks/week, 145 (9.7%) had ≤2-3 attacks/month, and 123 (8.2%) had 1-3 attacks every 3 months. Close to 75% indicated that it limits their daily activity frequently. One hundred and eighty-seven (12.5%) students fulfilled the criteria for tension-type headache, 36 (2.4%) for migraine headache, and 133 (8.9%) had nonclassified headaches. The most frequent headache-associated symptoms are photophia - 100 students (6.7%), phonophobia - 159 students (10.6%), while 62 students (4.1%) had nausea and vomiting. None of the students had seen a physician for proper headache diagnosis. Majority (90.2%) used none prescription over-the-counter analgesia (acetaminophen) for symptomatic treatment of their aches.
Headache is a common complaint among Nigerian undergraduate students and it limits the daily activity of majority of the sufferers. Students need proper education regarding treatment to alleviate their suffering and forestall complication, especially those associated with analgesic overuse.
头痛是一种常见的慢性神经系统疾病，具有巨大的经济和社会心理影响。与其他神经系统疾病相比，关于原发性头痛的数据有限，尤其是来自撒哈拉以南非洲地区的。本研究旨在填补这一空白，并提供尼日利亚大学生头痛情况的最新信息。
采用配额抽样从夸拉州首府伊洛林的三所高等教育机构中选取学生。根据国际头痛协会的指南制定了两阶段的自填式问卷来收集信息。
共有1500名学生参与了该研究。学生的平均年龄为20.9±3.1岁，男女比例为1.6:1。在过去1年中，共有356名学生经常头痛，头痛发生率为23.7%。53名学生（3.5%）几乎每天都头痛，84名（5.6%）每周发作≥4次，145名（9.7%）每月发作≤2 - 3次，123名（8.2%）每3个月发作1 - 3次。近75%的人表示头痛经常限制他们的日常活动。187名（12.5%）学生符合紧张型头痛标准，36名（2.4%）符合偏头痛标准，133名（8.9%）患有未分类头痛。最常见的与头痛相关的症状是畏光——100名学生（6.7%），畏声——159名学生（10.6%），而62名学生（4.1%）有恶心和呕吐症状。没有学生因头痛进行过适当诊断而看过医生。大多数（90.2%）使用非处方的非甾体抗炎药（对乙酰氨基酚）对症治疗头痛。
头痛是尼日利亚大学生的常见主诉，且限制了大多数患者的日常活动。学生需要接受关于治疗的适当教育，以减轻痛苦并预防并发症，特别是与止痛药过度使用相关的并发症。
