Prevalence of migraine and co-morbid psychiatric disorders among students of Cumhuriyet University

BACKROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of migraine and associated psychiatric disorders among university students at Cumhuriyet University of Sivas in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 1601 university students participated in this study and answered the questionnaires. The study was conducted in three stages: the self-questionnaire, the neurological evaluation, and the psychiatric evaluation. In the first stage, the subjects completed a questionnaire to assess migraine symptoms. In the second stage, the subjects who reported having migraines underwent a detailed neurological evaluation conducted by a neurologist to confirm the diagnosis. In the final stage, the subjects with migraines completed a psychiatric examination using the structured clinical interview for DSM IV-R Axis I. RESULTS: The self-reported migraine prevalence rate was 13.7%, and the actual prevalence rate of migraine among the university students was calculated to be 10.6% (n = 169). When the results obtained with the SCID-I were examined, a current SCID-I psychiatric diagnosis was found in 39 (23.1%) of the 169 subjects with migraines. A total of 73 (43.2%) students with migraines had a lifetime SCID-I psychiatric diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that migraines were highly prevalent among university students in Turkey with comorbid psychiatric disorders. Treatment strategies must be developed to manage these comorbidities.