Abstract
Objective Nursing profession is subject to occupational stress, which can be a trigger for headaches. Our study aimed to study the prevalence of migraine, its characteristics, triggers, and relieving factors among nursing students in a tertiary care center.
Materials and Methods This study was performed in a super-specialty hospital in South India. A structured questionnaire captured data on the occurrence of headache, demographics, aura, triggering factors, relieving factors, and lifestyle habits. Results are presented in numbers and percentage.
Results A total of 20% of nursing students in the study had headache of which 85% had migraine. Weekly and daily attacks were reported in 12 and 4% students, respectively. Twenty-two percent had headache severity of more than 5 visual analogue scale. Most common accompanying symptoms were photophobia (80%), phonophobia (70%), nausea (75%), vomiting (71%), neck pain (25%), and vertigo (20%). Thirty-nine percent had auras. Ninety-five percent reported triggers with 70% students having more than one trigger. Sleep was the relieving factor in 69%, head massage in 50%, and relaxing from work in 48%.
Conclusion The most common type of primary headache in nurses in our study was migraine. More than three-fourths nurses reported triggers and relieving factors. Addressing these factors could help in managing migraines and help in improving the quality of life and increased work productivity of nurses.
Migraine in Nursing Students—A Study from a Tertiary Care Center in South India
