Proportion and Associated Factors of Chronic Headache in Bangladesh Armed Forces Personnel

Abstract

Background: Armed forces personnel are exposed to several stressful training followed by combat, non-combat injuries throughout their lifetime. Chronic headache has become frequently reported complaints in military hospitals. Considering the paucity of data among these special group of population, this study was designed to find the proportion of chronic headache and associated risk factors among the active Bangladesh Armed Forces personnel. Methods: After receiving ethical approval from the CMH Dhaka, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the Neurology outpatient department of the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka from April 2022 to March 2023. There were 208 individuals in all who complained of headache. Each patient gave their signed, informed consent before giving a thorough history that included information about their clinical history, anthropometric measurements, demographic characteristics, and headache. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather data. SPSS 24 was used to analyze the data. Results: Mean age of the study population was 42.38±14.93 years with male predominance (74.5%). Maximum study participants were not officer (75%) and resided outside cantonment (52.9%). 26.4% had history of caffeine intake, 8.2% had recent history of traumatic event and 8.2% had positive smoking history. The overall proportion of chronic headache was 19.2% (n=40). Headache was significantly associated with residence, caffeine intake and smoking (p<0.05). Conclusion: Almost one-fifth of the serving military personnel with headache are suffering from chronic headache. Frequency of headache may be decreased by encouraging them to avoid smoking and moderation of caffeine intake.

Bangladesh Armed Forces Med J Vol 58 No (1) June 2025, pp 17-21