Medical expert Dr Muhammad Ismail Khalid Yousuf said that one out of every seven adults worldwide and one out of every 10 children suffer from migraine but unfortunately, Pakistan’s adult numbers are higher than average..
This was stated by him in seminar organized by Professional Development Centre of Dow University in collaboration with Pakistan Society of Neurology at the varsity. Dr Yousuf, Assistant Professor Virginia Tech University addressed the participants through a video link from USA and discussed headache in children and adolescents.
He said that according to a study, globally migraine prevalence is 14%, while according to a local study in 2017, the prevalence of migraine in one year in Pakistan is estimated to be 22.5%. The prevalence of tension type headache (TTH) is 26% while in Pakistan one year prevalence is 44.6%.
Regarding headaches in children, Dr. Ismail said that headaches in children and adolescents is the third most common cause of school absenteeism, which can cause problems in quality of life, recreational activities, personal life and studies.
Dr Yousuf said that recurrent headache that lasts for one or more days, this pain usually occurs in 30% of children. He said that the triggers of migraine include hormonal changes in women, tension, and stress, changes in sleeping hours, weather, bright light or noise.
The expert said said that women are more prone to migraines than men. He said that those children who suffer with headache at an early age are more likely to develop mental health problems when they grow up.
Regarding the psychosocial causes and impacts of migraine, he said that the exposure to interpersonal violence, with neglect or abuse in early age has been posed as potential trigger of headache in adolescents and adults. He further said that dysfunctional family’s relations may influence the ability of children to cope with recurrent pain.
He said that adverse childhood experiences (ACE), with a moderate to severe stress impact during the first 18 years of life, may be negatively and cumulatively associated with chronic pain and mental health problems in youths.
He also highlighted the case studies of children suffering from different types of headaches, one of which was an 8-year-old child’s headache as a result of a tumour, while the headache in 11-16-year-old children was due to mental stress and especially from studying.
It was due to related stress and domestic problems that led to migraines. Dr Yousuf, while discussing episodic syndromes associated with migraines, said that the prevalence of migraine-related syndromes in children is 5%. He said that children who have abdominal migraines have probability of approximately 70% of developing migraine later in life. He said that family history is also important in the diagnosis of migraine, at least two-thirds of children diagnosed with migraine have a family history.
