Background
Primary headache disorders are a diverse group of neurologic conditions that cause recurrent or persistent headaches with no obvious cause {1}. Migraine is being recognized as a significant health problem affecting the quality of life and a major cause of morbidity among young adults specially students, and one of the major health related resources consumers It is a chronic neurological disease that affects 15% of the population, but there is little information about its prevalence in Sudan{2}. During university life, students often report increased levels of stress, depression, anxiety, and irregular sleep, all of which are associated with migraines .Migraine is on the rise in both general populations and university students, according to available statistics. The activation of the so-called trigeminoascular system (TGVS) causes it: trigeminal afferents activate structures involved in pain transmission and perception, as well as the release of vasoactive peptides (presumably causing neurogenic inflammation). The primary cause of TGVS activation and the mechanism of pain generation after TGVS activation are the two major open questions in migraine headache neurobiology Regarding the main cause of TGVS activation, two theories have dominated the field: cortical spreading depression (a slowly moving wave of cortical depolarization) and the existence of a brainstem generator (dysfunctional brainstem nuclei involved in ant nociception as a primary cause of migraine).In terms of migraine pain mechanisms, two main theories have been proposed: neurogenic inflammation of the meninges and trigeminal nerve and nucleus sensitization. There is a strong genetic component to migraine. CACNA1A (which encodes a subunit of the voltage-gated Ca2+ channel CaV2.1) and ATP1A2 (which encodes a subunit of the Na+/K+ ATPase) are the only two genes known to cause a rare form of migraine. The discovery of migraine-linked mutations, as well as the identification of the most likely primary cause of TGVS activation, has provided us with new targets for the development of anti-migraine compounds. Due to the prevalence of the disease and the fact that currently available drugs are not always successful, this is a critical are {3, 4, 5, 6, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22} Migraine headaches have a wide range of prevalence rates. The prevalence of migraine-type headaches varies depending on the technique used to diagnose them in different studies. There have been few studies on the prevalence of migraine in Sudanese university students. It is particularly significant among university students because of its negative effects on quality of life. WHO must maintain a high level of concentration and achievement. Headaches have a significant effect on university students’ academic performance. Students with migraines have a 62.7 percent decrease in capacity compared to students with episodic tension-type headaches (ETTH), who have a 24.4 percent decrease in capacity. Furthermore, students suffering from migraine headaches missed more school than those suffering from ETTH.
The significance of migraine headaches in university students is revealed by these findings. To ascertain the prevalence, large populations must be subjected to useful, reliable, and validated screening tests. Lipton et al. developed and validated the Identity Migraine (ID Migraine TM) test, which is a proper and useful screening tool that can be applied quickly to large populations. In primary care, this test’s sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value have been determined to be 81 percent, 75 percent, and 93 percent, respectively. Adolescence is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as young people aged 10 to 19. The university population includes both teens and adults {9}. With a sensitivity of 62.1 % and a specificity of 71.1 %, the test has been validated for use among adolescent students {8}.In this study, our goal is to use the ID Migraine™ rapid detection tool to determine the prevalence of migraine in college students. The prevalence of migraine in the general population ranged from 2.6 percent to 32 percent. The prevalence of migraine headache was estimated to be between 12.2 percent and 27.9 percent among medical university students, and between 7.1 percent and 13.7 percent among schoolchildren (6 to 18 years. Females were found to be more likely than males to suffer from migraines. The duration of migraine attacks became shorter as people got older, while chronic (daily) migraine became more common Anxiety, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression were the most frequently observed comorbidities with migraine. Stress, fatigue, sleep disturbances, prolonged exposure to excessive sunshine or heat, and starvation were the most common headache-inducing factors}.The prevalence and risk factors of migraine headache in Arab countries are comparable to reports from western countries. Longitudinal studies are still needed to examine the prognosis and predictors of chronic diseases in Arab countries {7}.
Migraine is a major cause of morbidity among young adults especially students, and one of the major health related resources consumers.
Migraine is a very important disease and there is no enough researches done for it and is easily preventable-but at the same time it affects quality of life such as students’ academic performance- by proper practice of consuming good prescribed drugs, so this research will help primary health care providers in the effort to decrease adult students’ morbidity.