Awareness level of Headache Medication Side Effects within the General Population of Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia

Nora Alshareef; Ohud  Alsulami; Mokhtar Shatla; Tala Boshnaq; Abdulrahman Albadri; Israa Alahmadi; Dhaifallah Alharthi; Manar Dajam

doi:10.54293/smhj.v5i1.121

Authors

Nora Alshareef College of Pharmacy, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, KSA. https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8448-6557
Ohud Alsulami College of Medicine, Jeddah University, Jeddah, KSA.
Mokhtar Shatla Associate Professor, College of Medicine, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, KSA. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4952-4046
Tala Boshnaq College of Medicine, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, KSA. https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3993-6983
Abdulrahman Albadri College of Medicine, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, KSA.
Israa Alahmadi College of Medicine, Taibah University, Madinah, KSA. https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0888-4296
Dhaifallah Alharthi College of Medicine, Umm Alqura University, Al-Qunfudah, KSA. https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3676-8176
Manar Dajam College of Medicine, Batterjee University, Asir, KSA. https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7465-2691

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54293/smhj.v5i1.121

Keywords:

Saudi Arabia, side effects, awareness, headache, general population, Jeddah

Abstract

Background: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a secondary headache caused by the frequent overuse of acute headache medications. In patients with primary headaches, it is characterized by a frequency of 15 or more days per month and is associated with the use of over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics for a period exceeding three months.

Objective: This study evaluated the prevalence of MOH and the level of awareness of adverse medication effects among the general population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between March 25 and May 25, 2023, using an online questionnaire administered to the general population. Data were collected from cooperative male and female residents of Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia.

Result: The questionnaire was completed by 449 individuals; of them, 388 (86.4%) were females,with 369 (82.2%) being Saudi nationals. According to the study, 39% of participants reported having headaches for one to two days within the previous month, indicating a significant prevalence of headaches. Over half of the participants (54.3%) were unaware of the side effects of headache medications. Paracetamol was the most commonly used drug (62.8%), followed by Solpadeine (10.2%) and NSAIDS (6.9%). Higher educational levels were linked to better awareness of medication side effects.

Conclusion: Our study found significant associations between socio-demographics and knowledge of headache medication's side effects, especially high educated females and frequent headache sufferers. We suggest that we need to increase awareness about the side effects of headache medication among the high school educational population in Jeddah City.