Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2007, 213(3)

Headache Characteristics in Senior Medical Students in Turkey

SEBNEM BICAKCI,¹ FAHRETTIN OVER,¹ KEZBAN ASLAN,¹ NAFIZ BOZDEMIR,² ESRA SAATCI² and YAKUP SARICA¹

¹Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
²Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey

Headache is one of the most common neurological complaints of the young population and it affects the quality of life due to limitation of daily activities. In this study, our main goal was to appraise the general headache characteristics in senior medical students just before graduation and to determine the impact of headache on the quality of life, as well as the general attitude of students about their headaches. The study group consisted of 141 senior students. As the first step, the question about “having headache within the past one year period” was asked. Of the 141 students, 127 students answering “yes” were invited to a face-to-face interview. Of these, 67 students (52.8%) participated in the second evaluation. The second evaluation consisted of history taking and neurological and physical examination. All subjects were classified according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders (2nd edition) criteria. Validated Turkish version of Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire was given to the subjects to evaluate the socio-economical impact of headache. Tension-type headache, which is the most common form of primary headaches, was identified in 34 students (50.7%) out of 67 students. Migraine was detected in 31 students (46.3%). This is the first study performed on a face-to-face interview basis with medical students using the new classification criteria in Turkey. Astonishingly, most of the students (n:65) ignored their headaches and did not seek medication, despite the negative impact of headache on daily functioning and overall quality of life.

keywords —— headache characteristics; migraine; tension type headache; medical students; Turkey

© 2007 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2007, 213, 277-282

Correspondence: Assist. Prof. Dr. Sebnem Bicakci, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Çukurova University, Balcali - 01330 Adana, Türkiye

e-mail: sebnemb@cu.edu.tr