Classification and clinical features of headache disorders in Pakistan: a retrospective review of clinical data
- PMID: 19503794
- PMCID: PMC2688080
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005827
Classification and clinical features of headache disorders in Pakistan: a retrospective review of clinical data
Abstract
Background: Morbidity associated with primary headache disorders is a major public health problem with an overall prevalence of 46%. Tension-type headache and migraine are the two most prevalent causes. However, headache has not been sufficiently studied as a cause of morbidity in the developing world. Literature on prevalence and classification of these disorders in South Asia is scarce. The aim of this study is to describe the classification and clinical features of headache patients who seek medical advice in Pakistan.
Methods and results: Medical records of 255 consecutive patients who presented to a headache clinic at a tertiary care hospital were reviewed. Demographic details, onset and lifetime duration of illness, pattern of headache, associated features and family history were recorded. International Classification of Headache Disorders version 2 was applied. 66% of all patients were women and 81% of them were between 16 and 49 years of age. Migraine was the most common disorder (206 patients) followed by tension-type headache (58 patients), medication-overuse headache (6 patients) and cluster headache (4 patients). Chronic daily headache was seen in 99 patients. Patients with tension-type headache suffered from more frequent episodes of headache than patients with migraine (p<0.001). Duration of each headache episode was higher in women with menstrually related migraine (p = 0.015). Median age at presentation and at onset was lower in patients with migraine who reported a first-degree family history of the disease (p = 0.003 and p<0.001 respectively).
Conclusions/significance: Patients who seek medical advice for headache in Pakistan are usually in their most productive ages. Migraine and tension-type headache are the most common clinical presentations of headache. Onset of migraine is earlier in patients with first-degree family history. Menstrually related migraine affects women with headache episodes of longer duration than other patients and it warrants special therapeutic consideration. Follow-up studies to describe epidemiology and burden of headache in Pakistan are needed.
Conflict of interest statement
Figures
Similar articles
-
Managing migraine in children and adolescents.Prim Care. 2004 Jun;31(2):407-15, viii. doi: 10.1016/j.pop.2004.02.011. Prim Care. 2004. PMID: 15172515 Review.
-
Challenging or difficult headache patients.Prim Care. 2004 Jun;31(2):429-40, viii. doi: 10.1016/j.pop.2004.02.013. Prim Care. 2004. PMID: 15172517 Review.
-
Headache in women.Prim Care. 2004 Jun;31(2):417-28, viii. doi: 10.1016/j.pop.2004.02.012. Prim Care. 2004. PMID: 15172516 Review.
-
[Headaches in women].Ginekol Pol. 2006 Oct;77(10):811-9. Ginekol Pol. 2006. PMID: 17219816 Review. Polish.
-
[Chronic daily headache--a public health problem].Lakartidningen. 2007 Jun 4-11;104(23):1820-4. Lakartidningen. 2007. PMID: 17655030 Swedish. No abstract available.
Cited by
-
Prevalence, Characteristics, and Treatment Pattern of Menstrual-Related Headache Among Undergraduate Health Sciences Students at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.Int J Womens Health. 2024 Apr 20;16:707-716. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S454357. eCollection 2024. Int J Womens Health. 2024. PMID: 38680943 Free PMC article.
-
The Prevalence and Clinical Phenotypes of Cluster Headache in Relation with Latitude.Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2024 May;28(5):427-438. doi: 10.1007/s11916-024-01229-3. Epub 2024 Mar 5. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2024. PMID: 38441794 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Cross-sectional, hospital-based analysis of headache types using ICHD-3 criteria in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: the Head-MENAA study.J Headache Pain. 2023 Mar 13;24(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s10194-023-01555-8. J Headache Pain. 2023. PMID: 36915115 Free PMC article.
-
Migraine in physicians and final year medical students: A cross-sectional insight into prevalence, self-awareness, and knowledge from Pakistan.World J Methodol. 2022 Sep 20;12(5):414-427. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v12.i5.414. eCollection 2022 Sep 20. World J Methodol. 2022. PMID: 36186750 Free PMC article.
-
Effect of Migraine Headache on Productivity of Patients According to Migraine Disability Assessment Score: A Cross-Sectional Study.Pain Ther. 2019 Dec;8(2):233-238. doi: 10.1007/s40122-019-0130-4. Epub 2019 Jul 9. Pain Ther. 2019. PMID: 31290014 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Stovner L, Hagen K, Jensen R, Katsarava Z, Lipton R, et al. The global burden of headache: a documentation of headache prevalence and disability worldwide. Cephalalgia. 2007;27:193–210. - PubMed
-
- Mateen F, Dua T, Steiner T, Saxena S. Headache disorders in developing countries: research over the past decade. Cephalalgia 2008 - PubMed
-
- The International Classification of Headache Disorders: 2nd edition. Cephalalgia. 2004;24(Suppl 1):9–160. - PubMed
-
- Silberstein SD, Lipton RB. Chronic daily headache. Curr Opin Neurol. 2000;13:277–283. - PubMed
-
- Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet. 2004;363:157–163. - PubMed
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical