A Cross Sectional Study on Factors Relating to Headache Patients Presenting to a Private Hospital in Bhubaneswar

Objective: A study to describe the classification and factors related to headache patients who seek medical advice.

Materials & Methods: Interview of 400 consecutive patients who presented to a neurologist at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar was conducted. Demographic details, pattern of headache, associated factors and family history were recorded. International Classification of Headache Disorders version 2 was applied.

Results: 77% of all patients were women and 66% of them were between 20 and 60 years of age. Migraine was the most common disorder (64%) followed by tension-type headache (23.5%), medicationoveruse headache (9.5%) and cluster headache (3%). Chronic daily headache was seen in 156 patients. Eleven percent of female migraineurs suffered from MRM. Study subjects with presence of factors like marriage, family history, inadequate sleep, family stress and exposure to onions had a statistically significant higher proportion than those who did not have such exposure.

Conclusions: Patients who seek medical advice for headache are usually in their most productive ages. Migraine and tension-type headache are the most common clinical presentations of headache. Onset of migraine is earlier in patients with first-degree family history. Menstrually related migraine affects women with headache episodes of longer duration than other patients and it warrants special therapeutic consideration.