title: Frequency, character and predisposing factor of headache among students of medical college of Karachi.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the frequency, predisposing factors and symptomatology of headache among medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2013 and comprised students of two medical colleges of Karachi. International Classification of Headache Disorder-II criterion was used to diagnose and classify headache. SPSS 17 was used for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 413 medical students studies, 326(79%) had tension type headache, and 87 (21%) had migraine. Headache was more frequent among females than males, with a ratio of 6.5:1. Both types of headache were significantly associated with self-reported disturbed sleep pattern, stress and various triggering factors (p<0.05 each). Both types greatly influenced individual's daily life with significant association with avoiding academics, extra-curricular activities, family and friends (p<0.05 each). High self-medication rate of 400(96.9%) was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of headache among medical students was high with female predominance. Infrequent consultation needs to be addressed through awareness programmes.
authors.affiliation: Civil Hospital Karachi, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi.
authors.forename: Tooba
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noor
authors.affiliation: Civil Hospital Karachi, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sajjad
authors.affiliation: Medical Student, Sind Medical College, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi.
authors.forename: Anoosha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Asma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015984:Causality; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012651:Self Medication / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018781:Tension-Type Headache / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Headache, Migraine, Medical students, Tension-type headache, Frequency.