Abstract

Background: Migraine is a unilateral headache which is accompanied by sensory symptoms. Migraine affects more than 10% of the general population being more common in females than males. It affects the performance of those who suffer from it. There are several factors that trigger a migraine, including stress, sleep, and certain dietary substances.
Methodology: This is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study of 523 female students. Participants who had two or more headaches in the last 3 months formed the headache group. Then two preliminary questions were asked to the headache group and participants with at least one affirmative response were asked to perform the validated ID-Migraine test.
Results: Two hundred and thirty-four out of 523 participants had suffered a migraine. The mean age of all participants was 20.97±1.64 years, while the mean age of migraine patients was 20.93±1.57 years. The prevalence of migraine was 44.74%. Lack of sleep was a triggering factor for migraine represented by 89.3%, followed by stress which represented 74.8%; the least common factor was excessive drinking of coffee (20.5%). Moderate pain was the most common degree among participants.
Conclusion: The prevalence of migraine was moderate and represented 44.74% of female students in Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, the lack of sleep and stress were the most common factors that triggered it.
Keywords: Migraine prevalence, migraine in females, MIDAS, migraine in KSA.

Key words: Migraine prevalence, Migraine in females, MIDAS, Migraine in KSA