{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T03:25:20Z","timestamp":1777346720899,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]],"date-time":"2021-02-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1612224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:bold>Background:<\/jats:bold> Primary headaches are remarkably prevalent worldwide and are increasingly reported among children. However, the exact trend in this age group, particularly in the Gulf region, remains largely unknown.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Aims and Objectives:<\/jats:bold> To examine the prevalence of primary headache disorders among primary and middle school students in Kuwait.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Methods:<\/jats:bold> We conducted a cross-sectional study that included Kuwaiti primary and middle school children and adolescents of both genders in randomly selected schools located in two governorates in Kuwait in the 2018\/2019 academic year. Prevalence and attributable burden of headaches, definite and probable migraines, definite and probable tension-type headaches, chronic headaches (\u226515 days\/month), and probable medication-overuse headaches were assessed using the Headache-Attributed Restriction, Disability, Social Handicap, and Impaired Participation (HARDSHIP) questionnaire for children and adolescents.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results:<\/jats:bold> Of 1,485 questionnaires that were distributed, 1,089 students completed the questionnaire with a respondent rate of 73.4%. The study population consisted of 420 boys (38.56%) and 669 girls (61.43%) students with a mean age of 11.5 \u00b1 2.11 years. The 1-year prevalence of primary headache disorders was 42.78%, with more middle schoolers reporting headaches than primary schoolers (50.37 vs. 30.48%; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.02). The mean age of students with primary headaches was 11.98 \u00b1 2.03 years in both genders. When stratified according to diagnostic criteria, migraine headaches were the most frequently reported (20.75%), followed by tension type headaches (18.8%), chronic headaches (2.75%), and probable medication-overuse headaches (0.46%). Primary headaches were significantly higher in girls compared to boys among middle schoolers (66.46 vs. 38.49%; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.001); however, no significant difference between genders was noted among primary school students (33.12 vs. 22.33%; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.118).<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Conclusion:<\/jats:bold> Primary headaches are remarkably common in Kuwaiti school students, with migraine headaches being the most frequently reported type. Age and female gender may play a role in the development of primary headaches. These findings necessitate the direction of health services and research efforts toward this age group and warrant the need for further epidemiological studies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2021.621017","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]],"date-time":"2021-02-02T10:59:52Z","timestamp":1612263592000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Primary Headache Disorder Among School Students in Kuwait"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Sameera","family":"Shuaibi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abdelrahman","family":"AlAshqar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Samar 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