[Prevalence of migraine in the medical student population as determined by means of the 'Alcoi 1992' questionnaire].

A group of medical students were interviewed using the 'Alcoi 1992' questionnaire based on the diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society (IHS) in order to assess the prevalence and various characteristics of migraine. This questionnaire for headache diagnosis was approved in 1993, showing both high sensitivity and exactness in diagnosing migraine. Sensitivity, exactness, predictive value and agreement index of the questionnaire in migraine diagnosis were 100%, 94%, 90% (positive) or 100% (negative) and 0.71% respectively. The group was made up of 96 students of both sexes, with an average age of 23.3 years (standard deviation 1.87). A total of 92 students, 35 male and 57 female, reported headaches. The total prevalence rate for headache was 95.8%, the reliability interval (RI) being 76.7-114.9. In the case of female students, the prevalence rate for headache was 96.6% (RI 71.7-121.5) and in the case of male students it was 94.6% (RI 63-125.7). A total of 20 students, six male and 14 female, fulfilled the criteria for migraine. The overall prevalence rate for migraine was 20.8% (RI 11.9-29.7), the prevalence for females being 23.7% (RI 11.6-35.8) and that for males 16.2% (RI 3.7-28.7). The questionnaire would appear to be a useful, rapid and simple method in the assessment of migraine diagnostic.