Migraine among Egyptian medical students: prevalence, disability and psychological distress-cross sectional study

Background: Migraine is one of the most prevalent and disabling primary headache disorders. Migraine has many triggers factors as stress and irregular sleep pattern. Medical study in Egypt is so stressful with great psychological and physical burden; hence medical students are vulnerable to migraine. This study aims to determine the prevalence, characteristics, degree of disability, and psychological stress associated with migraine among medical students at different Egyptian universities. Results: The overall prevalence of migraine was 17.27%, more in female (76.86%) than male. Sleeping disturbance and stress were the most common triggering factors associated with migraine (94.4%, 81.4% respectively). The majority of students with migraine (89.65%) had high psychological distress as measured by Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) with moderate to severe disorder, while 76.8% had moderate to severe disability as assessed by Migraine Disability Assessment Score (MIDAS). Female gender was a potential predictor associated with higher psychological distress. There is negative correlation between degree of disability and academic performance. Conclusion: Migraine is prevalent among medical students, with female predominance. It is associated with high level of psychological stress, moderate to severe disability, and negative impact on lifestyle and academic performance of the students.