PREVALENCE OF CHRONIC HEADACHE IN SHANGHAI CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: QUESTIONNAIRE STUDY

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to explore the prevalence and characteristics of chronic headache in Shanghai children and adolescents.

Methods: A population-based questionnaire study was conducted among subjects aged 6–15 years sampled from Shanghai primary and junior high school.

Results: Prevalence: 8701 pupils from 9857 (88.6%) replied to the questionnaire survery. 17% answered had headache, and 86.4% among them were unknown for the reason of headache. The prevalence of chronic headache in Shanghai children and adolescents was 7.8%, there was no significant difference in sex; the prevalence increased with age. Too much fatigue (51.4), followed by lack of sleep (40.4), mood change (38.5%) were the main aggravating factors. Half patients thought the headache had impacted study and daily life. Characteristics of chronic headache: the ratio of unilateral bilateral and unknowable headache parts was similar. The most of their headache parts were temple (35.2%) and forehead (25.6%), always accompanied by gastroenteritis symptom. 24% of students sought medical assistance during headache episodes and among them only 30% took medical remedies. Headache also had relation with positive family history asthma and pressure of study.

Conclusion: Headache was a common complaint for children, impacting the patients' study and life. But many patients were not treated properly, so more attention needed to be paid by both medicine and society.