Screening for migraine and non-migraine headaches and their impact on daily functioning among undergraduate medical students.

Abstract

Objective: To assess frequency of migraines and measure their functional impact among undergraduate medical students. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Aziz Fatimah Medical and Dental College, Faisalabad. Period: June 2024 to November 2024. Methods: 191 medical students (109 female, 82 male) were recruited through convenience sampling. Participants completed the 3-item Identify-Migraine (ID-Migraine) screening questionnaire and the 6-item Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) questionnaire through a virtual Google Form. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 27. Results: 79 (41%) screened positive for migraine using the ID-Migraine questionnaire. Migraine prevalence was higher in females than males (p = 0.005). Females also reported greater migraine-related disability than males, with higher proportions experiencing moderate (11% vs. 8.9%) and severe disability (20.4% vs. 6.8%) (p = 0.012). Among migraine-positive students, 14% of females versus 3% of males experienced severe disability. Notably, 19.5% of students who screened negative still reported moderate-to-severe disability. Conclusion: This study provides valuable insight into the prevalence and functional impact of migraine among undergraduate medical students, highlighting a significantly higher burden experienced by female students. The findings underscore the importance of early screening among populations of interest to help mitigate the academic and functional consequences of migraine.