Occurrence and Characteristics of Headache in the Medical Students at the University of Mostar School of Medicine

Headaches in medical students

Abstract

Background: Primary headaches are one of the most common neurological problems, with a high prevalence among medical students. We studied the occurrence and characteristics of headaches among first-year and sixth-year student and their impact on life of medical students.

Methods: The research was conducted at the School of Medicine, University of Mostar in May 2022. Anonymous combined survey questionnaire, and HIT-6 questionnaire - Headache Impact Test 6 was conducted via an online link and the Google Forms application.

Main findings: Out of 120 students, 64 of them declared that they had a headache in the past 3 months. First-year medical students had a significantly higher number of headaches per month than sixth-year students (p<0.001). The most common precipitating factor was psychological fatigue, and it was presented in a higher percentage among first-year medical students (88.3%), than among sixth-year medical students (66.7%), (p=0.009).

Principal conclusion: Headaches are very common among medical students, especially during the first year of education. Psychological fatigue and stress have led to headaches in the majority of students. So, this problem should be properly perceived and its potential impact on everyday life and academic success of the students should not be neglected.

Key words: headaches, medical students, University of Mostar