Epidemiology of headache in Hong Kong primary-level schoolchildren: questionnaire study

CK Kong, WW Cheng, LY Wong
Department of Paediatrics, Caritas Medical Centre, 111 Wing Hong Street, Shamshuipo, Hong Kong

OBJECTIVE: To collect and analyse epidemiological data on childhood headache in the Hong Kong community.
DESIGN: Questionnaire study.
SETTING: Three primary schools, Hong Kong.
PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand, one hundred and twenty pupils from 2156 replied to the questionnaire survey. One hundred and twenty-four pupils who were identified to have suspected recurrent headache were invited to a follow-up medical consultation.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age-groups and prevalence of tension-type and migraine headache, using the diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of headache in the 2120 respondents was 2.8%. The prevalence of tension-type headache, migraine, probable migraine, and unclassified headache were 1.2%, 0.5%, 0.7%, and 0.5%, respectively. The age-specific prevalence of headache from the age of 6 to 13 years showed a steadily increasing trend from childhood to the early teens.
CONCLUSION: Headache is a common complaint for children, although it may be underrecognised. Further study will be beneficial for providing better management of headache in this population.

Hong Kong Med J 2001;7:29-33

Key words: Child; Headache/epidemiology; Incidence; Migraine; Prevalence; Tension type headache