Relationship between migraine and internet addiction in pharmacy students

Abstract

Background: In recent years, with the rapid popularization of the Internet, lifestyle disturbances, such as insufficient sleep due to excessive use of the Internet, is of concern. Sleep problems are known to trigger migraines. To clarify the relationship between migraine and Internet addiction, a questionnaire survey was conducted for pharmacy students at university.
Methods: Internet addiction symptoms were assessed using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and migraine was evaluated using modified Japanese migraine screening. Continuous variables were analysed using the unpaired Student’s t-test or one-way analysis of variance followed by multiple Turkey's comparison tests. Categorical variables were analysed by the χ2 test.
Results: The recovery rate was 98.9% (442 / 447 students). Of the 288 students who had headaches in the past 3 months, 145 students (32.8%, 145/442 students) were judged as having migraines by migraine screening. Sleep problems (62.1%) were observed in the migraine group. Moreover, sleep deprivation due to headache was noted in 31.7% of the migraine group. The percentage of students with Internet addiction in the migraine group was significantly higher than that in the other headache group or no headache group.
Conclusions: Internet addiction was associated with the presence/absence of migraine in pharmacy students at university.