The prevalence of headache disorders among medical students in Vietnam: a cross-sectional study

Background: Headache disorders are among the leading causes of disability worldwide, especially in young adults. However, no data on the burden of these disorders in Vietnam have been published to date. This study is the first to assess the prevalence of headache disorders among Vietnamese medical students.

Methods: This study was conducted in accordance with the recommended methodology of the Global Campaign. Data were collected through interviews using the HARDSHIP structured questionnaire, translated into Vietnamese, with diagnostic assessments based on ICHD-3 criteria. Participants were recruited from two medical universities in Vietnam. The 1-year prevalence rates of headache disorders of public health significance (migraine, tension-type headache [TTH], and probable medication-overuse headache [pMOH]) were estimated. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between headache disorders and sociodemographic/anthropometric variables.

Results: A total of 1,362 participants (42.7% males and 57.3% females) with a mean age of 21.1 ± 1.6 years were included. The overall 1-year prevalence of any headache was 82.6% [95% CI: 80.5-84.6], with a prevalence of 74.7% [71.0-78.2] among males and 88.5% [86.0-90.6] among females. The 1-year prevalences for specific headache types were as follows: migraine 21.8% [19.6-24.1], TTH 54.0% [51.3-56.7], pMOH 0.4% [0.2-1.0], and other headaches on ≥ 15 days/month 3.7% [2.7-4.8]. The one-day prevalence of any headache was 12.1%. Female gender (adjusted OR = 1.77 [1.32-2.36]; p < 0.001) was independently associated with a higher prevalence of migraine, while older age (aOR = 0.84 [0.77-0.91] per year increase) was associated with a lower prevalence. In contrast, TTH was more common among older participants (aOR = 1.07 [1.005-1.15] per year increase).

Conclusions: This study highlights the high prevalence of headache disorders, particularly migraine and TTH, among medical students in Vietnam. These findings underscore the critical need for public health initiatives to improve early diagnosis and effective management of headache disorders within this population.