Psychosocial risk factors for headache in medical students

TL;DR

This study explores how psychosocial factors like stress and anxiety are linked to headaches in medical students.

Contribution

The study identifies specific psychosocial risk factors associated with headaches among medical students.

Findings

Headaches were reported by two-thirds of medical students, with no significant difference between domestic and foreign students.

Higher stress levels, lower self-esteem, and higher medication use were significantly correlated with headaches.

Female students experienced headaches more frequently than their male counterparts.

Abstract

Headache is often considered as a symptom reflecting mental ill-being of a person. Taking into account heavy academic loads, we should study it in medical students in reference to its connections with various psychosocial risk factors

To establish interrelations between the frequency of headaches in medical students and risk factors of psychosocial nature

We conducted the research based on the Faculty of Medicine of Ulianov Chuvash State University. It covered 546 students of both genders who had no complains of having mental problems. We surveyed the students by means of Sociocultural Health Questionnaire (E. Nikolaev)

The research showed that two out of three students complained of headaches of various intensity and frequency. It was present with statistically equal frequency (p>.05) in domestic (68.85%) and foreign (63.90%) medical students. Females experience headache more often (r=.20), and it more often correlates with a high level of stress (r=.25), lesser satisfaction with studying (r=-.14), higher frequency of e-cigarette consumption (r=.15), higher anxiety due to phantom ringing syndrome (r=.15), lower self-esteem of health (r=-.29), confidence (r=-.16), successfulness (r=-.12), happiness (r=-.18), well-being (r=-.11), liveliness (r=-.16), higher frequency of medication consumption (r=.27), higher frequency of visits to a psychotherapist in the childhood (r=.11), higher current need in the help of a psychologist (r=.21), psychiatrist and psychotherapist (r=.21).

These psychosocial risk factors call for attention from mental health professionals, and we should take them into consideration while providing medical care to medical students and developing health programs in universities.

None Declared