Perceived Stress and Impact on Role Functioning in University Students with Migraine-Like Headaches during COVID-19

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 20; no. 8; p. 5499
• Main Authors: Tamulevicius, Nauris, Save, Ritika, Gandhi, Nishita, Lubiak, Sean, Sharma, Siddhi, Aguado Loi, Claudia X, Paneru, Khyam, Martinasek, Mary P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.04.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety; Chronic diseases; Chronic illnesses; College students; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease; Headache; Headache - epidemiology; Headaches; Humans; Infections; Likert scale; Migraine; Migraine Disorders - epidemiology; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Social aspects; Social factors; Social interactions; Software; Stress; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Students; Universities; University students; Young Adult; COVID-19; university students; stress; impact on role functioning; migraine; migraine-like headaches
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20085499

Migraines, a chronic disease, can be debilitating in university students, affecting their academic performance, attendance, and social interactions. The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of COVID-19 on the role functioning and perceived stress levels of students suffering from migraine-like headaches. Two identical cross-sectional surveys were sent to students in Fall 2019 and Spring 2021 at a mid-sized university in the U.S. The students were queried on the headache impact scale (HIT-6) and perceived stress scale (PSS-10). Associations between the migraine-like headaches, severity of the headaches, stress levels, and headache impacts on the individuals' role functioning were analyzed. The average age of the respondents (n = 721) was 20.81 ± 4.32 years in 2019 and (n = 520) 20.95 ± 3.19 years in 2021. A difference ( = 0.044) was found in the HIT-6 score <49 category. The other categories of the HIT-6 and the PSS-10 were not significant. During COVID-19, more students answered that their migraine-like headaches had lower impacts on their role functioning, thus suggesting that the students were having less severe migraines. A trend was seen for student's stress levels, indicating a decrease from 2019 to 2021. Furthermore, our results showed that the impact of headaches and stress levels slightly declined throughout the pandemic.