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. 2022 Sep 17:82:104589.
doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104589. eCollection 2022 Oct.

Frequency of migraine according to the ICHD-3 criteria and its association with sociodemographic and triggering factors in Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

Farwa Athar  1 , Afra Zahid  1 , Minaam Farooq  1 , Muhammad Ayyan  1 , Mohammad Ashraf  2 , Mukarram Farooq  3 , Faiza Naeem  1 , Aamna Badar  1 , Muhammad Ehsan  1 , Ayesha Hussain  1 , Muhammad Abdullah Ilyas  1
Affiliations

Frequency of migraine according to the ICHD-3 criteria and its association with sociodemographic and triggering factors in Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

Farwa Athar et al. Ann Med Surg (Lond). .

Abstract

Background: Migraine is a primary headache disorder marked by episodes of moderate to severe headache that is unilateral, throbbing in character, having a duration of 4 h to three days, and associated with nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and phonophobia.

Aims: Our study aims to determine the frequency of migraine in Pakistan, its association with sociodemographic variables and triggering factors, and the coping mechanisms used.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey from March 19, 2022, to June 15, 2022. The snowball sampling technique was used for data collection. The questions asked included those on sociodemographic information, screening questions, and questions on triggering factors and coping mechanisms. The screening was done using the ICHD-3 criteria and percentages were calculated using SPSS.

Results: Of the 986 respondents, 393 suffered from migraine. The majority of them were female (78.1%), belonged to the age group 20-29 years (69.2%), and were students (76.1%). 32.8% of the migraineurs had a family history of migraine. Most frequent triggers included sleep disturbance (70.5%), stress (66.7%) and fatigue (64.4%). Of the female migraineurs, 31.8% had menstruation as a trigger. The coping mechanisms used included taking rest, medication, staying in a quiet and dark place, and doing massage.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that young adults, especially females, with a stressful and sleep-deprived lifestyle are more vulnerable to migraine. However, further studies must focus on trigger synergy and interrelation of triggers that precipitate migraine so a better understanding can be developed for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of migraine.

Keywords: ICHD-3 criteria; Migraine disorders; Sociodemographic factors; Triggering factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

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Fig. 1
Prevalence according to gender.
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Prevalence according to age.
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Prevalence according to employment status.
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Prevalence according to family history.
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Coping mechanisms used by the migraineurs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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