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Headaches and Academic Performance in University Students: A Cross‐Sectional Study
Author(s) -
SouzaeSilva Hugo R.,
RochaFilho Pedro A. S.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
headache: the journal of head and face pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.14
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1526-4610
pISSN - 0017-8748
DOI - 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2011.02012.x
Subject(s) - headaches , absenteeism , migraine , medicine , cross sectional study , anxiety , depression (economics) , population , physical therapy , psychiatry , psychology , environmental health , social psychology , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Objectives.— To estimate the 1‐year prevalence of headache, its repercussion and its association with the academic performance of university students. Methods.— Cross‐sectional study. Three hundred eighty students were randomly selected out of the 1718, 90.5% of them were interviewed. A semi‐structured interview, the Headache Impact Test (HIT‐6) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used. The variables related to academic performance: absenteeism, performance coefficient and number of failures in disciplines, were obtained by consulting the academic records. Results.— Three hundred forty‐four students were interviewed. The headache prevalence was 87.2%. Migraine prevalence was 48.5%. Tension‐type headache prevalence was 42.4%. During the 3 months prior to the interview, 8.7% sought emergency services, 30.8% missed class, and 30.8% had a reduction in their productive capacity because of headache. HIT‐6: substantial/severe impact = 49%. Multiple linear regressions have shown that serious/very serious‐impact headaches are significantly related to greater number of discipline failure and absenteeism. There was no association between student grades and headaches. Conclusion.— A high prevalence of headache in the studied population was verified. A high headache impact on a student's life was associated with worse academic performance.