Parental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward childhood headache: the impact of parental migraine.

INTRODUCTION

Headache is one of the most common neurological complaints in children and adolescents. Headache especially migraine in childhood significantly impacts daily life activities, including academic performance, and social interactions. Therefore, early recognition of migraine in children by parents may be an important step in reducing the social and economic burden caused by migraine. In our study, we aimed to evaluate parents' attitudes and their level of awareness regarding headache.

METHOD: This multi-center, prospective, descriptive, cross-sectional, survey-based study included two groups: migraine patients with at least one child under the age of 18, and a healthy control group selected from hospital staff and physician relatives without headache or neurological disease. The questionnaire examined the demographic information of the parents, the characteristics of their children's headaches, and the parents' knowledge and attitudes towards their children's headaches.

RESULTS

Our study included a total of 1226 parents, 541 of whom were migraine patients. In the group of migraine, the number of female participants was higher, the duration of education was short, the rate of full-time employment was low, and the number of children was higher (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p:0.002, respectively). 22.8% of the participants had children who experienced headaches. The characteristics of children's headaches were similar in both groups, only the phonophobia, photophobia, and nausea were more frequently observed in children of parents with migraine (p=0.008, p=0.024, p=0.005, respectively). The higher incidence of psychiatric disorders (p=0.012), sleep disorders (p=0.041) and headache in their first-degree relatives was observed in the migraine group whose children had headache (p=0.012). The migraine group was more aware about the importance of family history in migraine (p<0.001), the role of environmental and psychological factors (p=0.049). Contrary to expectations, the control group was also more knowledgeable about blurred vision (p=0.013), and speech disorders (p=0.005) that can accompany migraine attacks. Both groups showed high levels of concern about attitudes, perceptions, and potential behavioral responses towards their child's headache complaints. Families with migraine were more likely to suspect migraine when their children had intermittent headaches (p=0.001).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, children show similar headache characteristics except for accompanying symptoms, regardless of the presence of migraine in their families. The presence of migraine in family members is associated with increased awareness of familial risk, but it does not appear to significantly influence healthcare-seeking behavior. These results suggest that educational programs for parents can improve holistic migraine management in children, thus preventing the development of chronic migraine.