Adolescent's primary headache: epidemiology and socio-economic factors

Abstract

Background Headaches are one of frequent complaints diagnosed in children and adolescents. The objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence rates for headache among the Lithuanian sample of earlyadolescents and the role of possible related socio-economic factors. This study is a part of the Cross-National Survey on Health Behavior in School-aged Children - World Health Organization Collaborative Study (HBSC). Methods In total, 5,557 students (2,904 (51.6 %) boys and 2,728 (51.6 %) girls aged 11, 13 and 15 years old from Lithuania were surveyed in the 2005–2006 school-year. The research was carried out according to the methodology of the HBSC study using the anonymous standardized questionnaire The response rate was 90 %. The evaluation an impact of socio-economic factors was based on 8 items: (1) family income, (2) background and parents’ occupation, (3) family structure, (4) parents support, (5) schoolwork pressures, (6) spending time with friends, (7) being bullying at school. Results The overall prevalence of frequent headache (at least once a week) was 30.9%. Boys are less at risk than girls (c2 = 163,048; df = 1; p\0,000) and the prevalence increases with age. Family income had a strong association with adolescent’s headaches and significantly more prevalent among girls from low income families (c2 = 13,889; df = 2; p\0,001). Adolescents who lived in twoparent families and had good relationships with their parents experience less headache cases (c2 = 20,415; df = 3; p\0,000). The school environment (pressure at school, peers relationship) showed a significant association with the headache prevalence. Conclusion The findings underline the role of family and school social support in the prevalence of adolescent’s headache, which should be considered by health promoters.