Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, and Impact of Headache on Daily Activities of Medical Students at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates: A Community-based Research

Abstract Background Headache is one of the most common and debilitating neurological disorders. As it is highly common and impacts the quality-of-life and academic performance of medical undergraduates, it is essential to uncover the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and perceived triggering factors of headache among medical students at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. We aim to conduct this cross-sectional study that aids in discovering factors influencing the frequency and severity of headache which can guide healthcare providers to early detect, counsel, and treat it. Method Self-administered questionnaires were distributed among 471 medical students from Medicine, Pharmacy, and Health Sciences from September 2019 and May 2020. Data was analyzed by JMP Pro-14 using Chi-square, t-tests, and ANOVA. MIDAS was adopted, with some modifications, for measuring headache impact. Results A total of 471 students (75.2% females) participated. The prevalence of headache was 84.9% with a higher incidence among Medicine (p = 0.001), wearing eyeglasses (p = 0.033) and in a higher year of study (p = 0.026). Among those who experienced headaches recently, most had one headache episode per month (35%), for less than an hour (46.5%), described it as tightness (46.1%) and frontal in location (35.5%). Frequent headache sufferers had prolonged episodes (p < 0.001), during the afternoon (p < 0.0001), throbbing and severe in nature (p < 0.001). A significant reduction in academic performance (p = 0.0075) and routine activities (p = 0.028) were noticed. Stress or tension and too little sleep were the most common triggering factors. For the management of headaches, sleeping and relaxation were the most used by respondents. Conclusion Due to the stressful university life, headache is commonly experienced by a majority of undergraduates, especially Medicine students. The high prevalence of the headache and its incapacitating symptoms on medical students’ academic performance necessitate more attention from the healthcare providers to take serious steps towards early headache detection and intervention.