Prevalence of Primary Headache in Iraqi Patients with Relapsing Remitting MultipleSclerosis

Abstract

Objective: To find out how many multiple sclerosis patients experienced headaches.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Neurology Clinic located in Al-Sadiq Teaching Hospital in Babylon Governorate, Iraq from 15th September 2025 to 28th February 2026.

Methods: 151 multiple sclerosis patients were included. The demographic data and multiple sclerosis information such as age, sex, Expanded Disability Status Scale score, time of diagnosis, number of lesions, and type(s) of headache(s).

Results: Majority of the patients 105 (69.5%) were females and rest were males 46 (30.5%). Most patients had an Expanded Disability Status Scale score of zero (69, 45.7%) i.e. 1 (63, 41.7%) at scores of 1, 2 (13, 8.6%), or three; of the patients; 89 (58.9%) had a history of chronic headache but 62 (41.1%) did not. Most patients were 69 reported migraine as the type of headache they had the most often (highly significant), although tensions and/or unspecified headaches were reported to occur less frequently than migraines. It is important to note that (i.e, sensory deficits) were the most frequent presenting signs at the time of diagnosis. The largest number of multiple sclerosis patients was in the 15-25 years age range (86, 57%) followed closely by 25-35 years (39, 26%) and 35-45 years (26, 17%).

Conclusion: The prevalence of headaches in multiple sclerosis patients. The two most commonly reported headaches by patients were migraine and tension-type headaches. This indicates that focused education on the
recognition and management of headache in multiple sclerosis patients may improve their quality of life.