Epidemiological-based childhood headache natural history study: After an interval of six years

Abstract

Headache is a common problem among adolescents, and variations can be observed in headache types and characteristics. The present study aimed to reach 5562 Turkish children who were investigated six years previously in a school-based childhood headache project, and to evaluate their current headache status. Investigators interviewed the available students with structured questionnaires. New and old data were matched and analyzed. The present study included 1155 adolescents (mean age 15.2 +/- 1.1 years), with 582 boys (50.4%) and 573 girls (49.6%). The prevalence of headache was 78.7% (tension-type headache [TTH] 57.5%, migraine 18.6%, unspecified 2.6%). The prevalence of headache was 45.2% six years previously. In the intervening six years, headache prevalence increased and the headache types changed significantly (Kappa: 0.04, p < .01). The most important variation during this time was the significant increase in TTH. Analgesic use was determined in 70.2% of adolescents with headache, with this ratio being higher in migraineurs. In conclusion, there were an increase in headache prevalence and a significant change in headache types over the previous six years. It can also be suggested that new country-based management strategies are required.

Long-term follow-up of a community sample of adolescents with frequent headaches

“…High persistence rates have also been reported in follow-up studies for longer periods (5–10 years) in which half to most (47–83.5%) of the school children still had headaches in adolescence [29, 30], whereas about one-quarter of young adults still reported headaches in longer follow-up evaluations (13–15 years) [31, 32]. To date, the longest follow-up studies of school-aged children were performed by Bille, who examined the course of pronounced migraine over 30–40-year intervals when about 50% of the participants were about 50 years of age and still experienced migraines [28].…”

“…In a reassessment of school children with no headache at baseline, Özge and colleagues [29] reported that three-quarters had developed some form of headache disorder at the 6-year follow-up. In longer follow-up studies of 14 and 26 years, 25.1% [8] and 12.2% [29] of school children had developed unspecified headaches, respectively. In a 16-year follow-up of children in a headache-free control group, 11% had developed migraine [28].…”

“…For example, a 6-year follow-up of school children into adolescence in Turkey studies the predictors of incident cases and persistence of headache [29]. In that study, having a sibling with headache and a working mother increased the risk for developing headaches in adolescence for headache-free children, whereas having a mother with headache and female gender were associated with persistence of headaches.…”

“…Although about half of the children with migraine still had attacks around the age of 50 years, the prognosis was better for men than for women. In a school-based sample, Özge and collaborators followed 1155 children for a 6-year period up to mid-adolescence [29]. The overall headache prevalence increased from 45.2 to 78.7%, and most students had stable headaches, although the headache diagnoses showed a high transition rate over time.…”

A preliminary study on the relationship between central auditory processing and childhood primary headaches in the intercritical phase

“…Headache, a frequently occurring disorder in children and adolescents, is the third most common illness-related cause of absence from school, resulting in substantial impairment among pediatric patients [1-4]. The majority of headaches in children and adolescents are not associated with structural or organic disease [5-7].…”