ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Headache is considered a common health condition in doctors’ offices around the world. It is an unpleasant sensory experience that will be experienced by the individual at least once in their life, be it an adult or child. The main challenge is to make an accurate diagnosis due to the signs and symptoms that may be related to other diseases. Its etiology is multifactorial and is often related to the individual’s biopsychosocial condition. Thus, headache results in significant physical and emotional impact on the patient. The objective of this study was to identify the biopsychosocial aspects of the health of students and employees with headache from a higher education institution in the city of Vila Velha/ES.
METHODS:
This research was a cross-sectional analytical study conducted from March to May 2019. The convenience sample consisted of 51 individuals of both genders, aged between 18 and 59 years old, who reported headaches.
RESULTS:
Fifty-one individuals (female=41 and male=10) participated in the study; most individuals were single (n=38, 74.5%) and had no children (n=40, 78.4%); 62.7% were students and 32.7% were employees. The average time since the perception of the symptom was 105±118.3 months. According to the visual analog scale, the total average pain was 6.6±1.8. The impact of headache was measured by the migraine deficiency assessment questionnaire which showed 52.9% of individuals with a severe impact. This result resembles sleep disorders (58.8%), confirming that the headache is debilitating in the population studied.
CONCLUSION:
It was observed that female students had a higher prevalence of headache and that the most prevalent type of pain is migraine, with an impact on the overall functionality of individuals.
Keywords:
Headache; Migraine disorders; Physical therapy specialty; Sleep