Adnan Khan, Hammad Khattak, Raza Jamali, Hina Rashid, Ayesha Riaz, Arsalan Khan Ibrahimzai.
Prevalence of migraine, its common triggering factors and coping strategies in medical students of Peshawar.
Khyber Med Uni Med J Jan ;4(4):187-92.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of migraine in medical students • To find out the common triggering factors for migraine in medical students • To find out the common coping strategies for migraine in medical students. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted during academic year 2012. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among 500 medical students of selected medical colleges of Peshawar. Students were selected randomly from each professional year. Response rate was 81% (n=405; 188=male, 217=females). The Questionnaire included demographic data such as age, gender, family history questions on headache based on the international Headache Society. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequency and percentages were calculated for various variables. Result: Prevalence of migraine in medical student was 38.3% (41.93% in females and 34.04% males) The most com¬mon triggering factors were stress (93.54%), noise (73.54%), change in sleep patterns (62.58%), missed meal (60%%), tiredness (53.54%), physical activity (50.96%), flickering light (48.38%), caffeine (41.29%), cheese (32.90%), smell (32.90%), chocolate (25.16%). About coping strategy we found that 87/155 (56.12%) students were using medicine, 31(20%) going to sleep, 9(5.80%) rest for couple of hours and 8(5.16%) take medicine and go to sleep and other 20 (12.90%) have no copping strategy. Conclusion: The prevalence of migraine in medical students is quite high. Modification of the common triggering factors like stress, noise and change in sleep patterns can help in reducing the frequency and severity of migraine. The majority of the students were taking medicines to cope up with their migraine problem.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com