Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37223197›Full record

ArticleCureus2023

Assessment of the Prevalence and Level of Awareness of Medication Overuse Headache Among the General Population in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah S Alharbi, Omar F Alharbi, Fadi L Qutub, Warif M Albogami, Mohammed A Aljuhnie, Abdullah E Alharbi, Wed N Alqahtani, Omar Babateen

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Awareness of medication-overuse headache in Hail, Saudi Arabia.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Abdullah S AlharbiDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Omar F AlharbiDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Fadi L QutubDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Warif M AlbogamiDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Mohammed A AljuhnieDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Abdullah E AlharbiDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Wed N AlqahtaniDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Omar BabateenDepartment of Physiology, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Umm al-Qura University · SA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMedication overuse headache (MOH) is a secondary headache condition caused by consistently using more medication than necessary to treat headache symptoms. MOH is defined as a headache that occurs for 15 or more days per month in a patient with a pre-existing primary headache, and it develops as a result of regular overuse of symptomatic headache medication for more than three months. Patients with headaches often use simple pain medication for 15 or more days per month (e.g., non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and paracetamol) and 10 or more days per month of opioids, triptans, and combination analgesics, but when there is no relief from these medications, the headache progression can lead to a cycle of consuming more medication with increased pain, which can lead to MOH.

objectiveThis study aimed to assess the prevalence and awareness of MOH among the general population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2022 and March 2023 using a self-administered online questionnaire disseminated through social media. Data were collected from females and males 18 years of age and older living in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

resultsOverall, 715 individuals completed the questionnaire, 497 of whom were female (69.5%). The average age of the participants was 32.9 years (±13.3 years). The prevalence of MOH among those who reported having experienced headaches throughout their lifetimes was estimated to be 4.5%. Only 134 people (18.7%) were determined to be aware of MOH.

conclusionThis study demonstrated that the general population of Makkah has a high prevalence of MOH and low levels of MOH awareness.

Indexed as

awarenesschronic headachegeneral populationknowledgemakkahmedication overuse headacheprevalencesaudi arabia

Identifiers

PMID37223197
PMCPMC10202447
OpenAlexW4366769418

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.