Wehbe Andrew T, Costa Tarek E, Abbas Samar A, Costa Jad E, Costa George E, Wehbe Tarek W
Sabis International School System, Adma, Lebanon.
Faculty of Medicine, Saint- Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2022 May 9;6:24705470221099836. doi: 10.1177/24705470221099836. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.
Headache is a common symptom affecting children and adolescents. The medical literature over the last three decades reveals a variable prevalence and triggers in different countries, regions, circumstances and times. This study aims to assess the prevalence, frequency and quality of headaches in the Lebanese adolescent population under the COVID-19 confinement and study its triggers and relationship to screen time, self-reported anxiety, and sleep.
A cross sectional design was used to collect two survey results by snowball distribution using social media targeting adolescents aged 15 to 17 years of age. The first survey included 13 questions with a single best answer about screen time, feeling anxious, sleep time, schedule and consistency, and headaches. The second survey included 3 questions about the quality of the headaches, anxiety and its triggers.
Among 433 responders to the first survey, the prevalence of headaches, especially pressure points and band-like pressure was higher than any previously reported among adolescents in the literature, reaching 93.4%. Screen time was also higher than any previous reports with 95.6% spending 9 hours or more on screen while 64% of adolescents spending at least 12 hours a day on screen. In addition, the majority (82%) don't have consistent sleep habits and 41.8% consider themselves anxious. School was considered the main source of stress by 82.8% of the responders. The frequency of headache correlated significantly with increased screen time, self-reported anxiety and inconsistent sleep habits.
Headaches among adolescents are associated with increased screen use, sleep disorders, and self-reported anxiety. It is one of the primary somatization symptoms in this group expressing their extreme stress under the current economic, political, and health crisis. The present trends are likely to have major long term implications on adolescents' health and academic achievements and should alarm educators and health officials to intervene in this situation.
头痛是影响儿童和青少年的常见症状。过去三十年的医学文献显示，在不同国家、地区、环境和时间，头痛的患病率和诱发因素各不相同。本研究旨在评估新冠疫情封锁期间黎巴嫩青少年人群中头痛的患病率、发作频率和性质，并研究其诱发因素以及与屏幕使用时间、自我报告的焦虑和睡眠的关系。
采用横断面设计，通过社交媒体以滚雪球方式向15至17岁青少年收集两份调查问卷结果。第一份调查问卷包含13个问题，涉及屏幕使用时间、焦虑情绪、睡眠时间、作息规律和头痛情况，每个问题只有一个最佳答案。第二份调查问卷包含3个关于头痛性质、焦虑及其诱发因素的问题。
在第一份调查问卷的433名受访者中，头痛的患病率，尤其是压痛点和带状压迫感的患病率高于以往文献中报道的任何青少年群体，达到93.4%。屏幕使用时间也高于以往任何报告，95.6%的青少年每天花9小时或更长时间看屏幕，64%的青少年每天至少花12小时看屏幕。此外，大多数（82%）青少年没有规律的睡眠习惯，41.8%的青少年认为自己焦虑。82.8%的受访者认为学校是主要压力源。头痛发作频率与屏幕使用时间增加、自我报告的焦虑以及不规律的睡眠习惯显著相关。
青少年头痛与屏幕使用增加、睡眠障碍和自我报告的焦虑有关。这是该群体在当前经济、政治和健康危机下表达极度压力的主要躯体化症状之一。目前的趋势可能对青少年的健康和学业成绩产生重大长期影响，应引起教育工作者和卫生官员的警觉，以便对此情况进行干预。
