Prevalence and knowledge of headaches among Japanese hospital workers

ABSTRACT

Headaches are a common disorder. Our hospital is a general emergency hospital located in the center of a suburban city in Japan. Our facility consists of 400 beds and 532 workers. The Department of Neurosurgery and the Headache Clinic at our hospital initiated clinical services five years ago. Data regarding the prevalence of headaches among hospital workers are scarce. Hospital workers are often assumed to have more knowledge concerning various common health issues, including headaches. However, the knowledge regarding headaches among hospital workers has not yet been reported. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of and knowledge regarding prophylactic drugs and medication overuse causing headaches among workers at our hospital.