Migraine in physicians and final year medical students: A cross-sectional insight into prevalence, self-awareness, and knowledge from Pakistan

Abstract

BACKGROUND Despite its high prevalence, migraine remains underdiagnosed worldwide. A significant reason is the knowledge gap in physicians regarding diagnostic criteria, clinical features, and other clinical aspects of migraine. AIM To measure the knowledge deficit in physicians and medical students and to assess the prevalence of migraine in the same population. METHODS An online questionnaire was developed and distributed among physicians and final year medical students on duty in various medical and surgical specialties of Allied and DHQ Hospitals, Faisalabad, between October 2018 and October 2019. Inclusion criteria were public practicing physicians who experience headaches, while those who never experienced headaches were excluded. Different questions assessed respondents on their knowledge of triggers, diagnosis, management, and prophylaxis of the migraine headache. They were asked to diagnose themselves using embedded ICHD-3 diagnostic criteria for different types of migraine. Graphs, tables, and figures were made using Microsoft Office 2016 and Microsoft Visio, and data analysis was done in R Studio 1.4. RESULTS We had 213 respondents and 175 fulfilled inclusion criteria, with 99 (52%), 58 (30%) and 12 (6.3%) belonging to specialties of medicine, surgery, and others, respectively. Both genders were symmetrically represented (88 male and 87 female). Fifty-two (24.4%) of our 213 respondents were diagnosed with migraine, with 26 (50%) being aware of it. Females had higher prevalence among study participants ( n = 28, 32.2%) compared to males ( n = 20, 22.7%, P = 0.19). A majority (62%) of subjects never consulted any doctor for their headache. Similarly, a majority (62%) either never heard or did not remember the diagnostic criteria of migraine. Around 38% falsely believed that having any type of aura is essential for diagnosing migraine. The consultation rate was 37% ( n = 65), and migraineurs were significantly more likely to have consulted a doctor, and a neurologist in particular ( P < 0.001). Consulters and migraineurs fared better in the knowledge of diagnostic aspects of the disease than their counterparts. There was no significant difference in other knowledge aspects between consulters versus non-consulters and migraineurs versus non-migraineurs. CONCLUSION Critical knowledge gaps exist between physicians and medical students, potentially contributing to misdiagnosis and mismanagement of migraine.

Problem of headache: A cross-sectional study

“…A Pakistani study conducted recently to assess knowledge of migraine in physicians and final-year medical students showed that the knowledge is below the required level. [ 28 ] Less than 50% of the study population agreed that headache is mainly due to neurological manifestation as previously described in the literature. [ 29 ] However, there are not many studies that look at how much primary care doctors know and understand about migraines since it is one of the common types of headaches seen in neurological clinics in Saudi Arabia.…”

The Association Between Shift Work and Migraine Attacks Among Healthcare Workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…Notably, 89.2% of participants reported experiencing headaches, with a mean severity of 5.1 on a 1-10 scale. A study by Choudry et al (2022) shows that the total prevalence of migraine in physicians and medical students is 24.4% [26]. The variety of reported headache locations and accompanying symptoms such as aura, nausea, and vomiting align with classical migraine features documented in the medical literature.…”