ABSTRACT
The headache in the adolescent population is one of the most common conditions that doctors deal with. It is an important source of disability with several health-related considerations. The aim of the study was to investigate the frequency, as well as different epidemiological and clinical characteristics, of primary headaches in adolescents. An epidemiological study was conducted on 1800 adolescents of both sexes based on a questionnaire consisting of 65 questions referring to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of headaches. Based on the questionnaire information, the examinees were divided into four groups: adolescents with migraine, tension-type and mixed headache and the fourth group were examinees without headaches. The information was statistically processed and the level of significance < 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Out of 1800 respondents, 1160 subjects were those with headache (64.4%) and 640 subjects were without headache (35.6%). The most common primary headache is tension-type headache. The majority of subjects with tension-type headaches attend elementary school and with migraine and mixed headaches high school. There were significantly more headaches among adolescents who had their own computer and who spent more than 2 h using it. More frequent headaches were found in those who travel by public transport and spend more time on Facebook. Primary headaches in adolescent population occur frequently and despite numerous studies, they are still not taken seriously enough. It is necessary to educate parents, teachers and adolescents to avoid risk factors or at least reduce their impact.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior/psychology , Headache Disorders, Primary/diagnosis , Headache Disorders, Primary/psychology , Life Style , Population Surveillance , Screen Time , Adolescent , Female , Headache Disorders, Primary/classification , Humans , Male , Population Surveillance/methodsABSTRACT
Background: Epilepsy is a neurological disease that is often associated with psychiatric comorbidities.Subjects and methods: The aim of the study was to examine the frequency of psychic symptoms and their association with different types of epilepsy in the adolescent population. The study involved 100 adolescents with epilepsy and 100 healthy adolescents of both sexes at the age of 13-19. The examinees completed a standardized Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) questionnaire, concerning self-assessment of psychological disorders in the previous week. The value system of âânine dimensions and three global indexes of SCL-90-R scales were analyzed.Results: Our results suggest that adolescents with epilepsy have more than one psychic disorder compared to a healthy group of respondents. Somatic symptoms are more common in non-epileptic subjects, while obsessive-compulsive, depressive and phobic symptoms, as well as anxiety, aggressiveness, interpersonal vulnerability and paranoia, are more common in adolescents with epilepsy. Due to the type of epilepsy, obsessive compulsive symptoms are more common in adolescents with focal epilepsy, while the symptoms of phobia are more present in those with generalized epilepsy. The depth and intensity of psychological stress is higher in the group of adolescents with epilepsy compared to the healthy group of respondents.Conclusions: Psychiatric comorbidity is very common in epileptic patients and depending on the type of diagnosed epilepsy, various symptoms are expressed. Furthermore, psychological stress is more observable in adolescents with epilepsy. For patients with epilepsy, mental health care and seizure control is extremely important in the prevention of serious mental disabilities.
