Headache in Smartphone Users: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: Usage of Smartphones has increased rapidly and it may result in smartphone addiction. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of headache in smartphone users and to compare the headache characteristics between smartphone users and controls in university students. Methods: 242 (159 (65.7%) females, 83 (34.3%) males) university students were included in this study. Participants were divided into three groups; Smartphone non-users (n=50), low smartphone users (n=96) and high smartphone users (n=96). Informations about smartphone using and headache features were recorded for all participants. Subjects except smartphone non-user group were also assessed with the Smartphone Addiction Scale. Results: The findings revealed that the headache complaints were significantly higher in the high smartphone users (51%) than the low smartphone users (34.4%) (p=0.02). Duration and frequency of headache attack were higher in the high smartphone users (7.95 ± 5.29 and 8.73 ± 4.31, respectively) than the low smartphone users (4.96 ± 3.36 and 6.15 ± 3.29, respectively) and smartphone non-users (3.50 ± 2.87 and 3.87 ± 1.82, respectively) (p<0.05 for all). There were significantly positive correlations between the Smartphone Addiction Scale scores and duration and frequency of headache attack (r=0.549, p<0.001, r=0.523, p<0.001, respectively). Moreover, using analgesics to relieve headache was higher in smartphone users than smartphone non-users (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that headache may be associated with smartphone use. Therefore, smartphone users should be considered for carefully monitoring for headache.