Prevalence of Depression Symptoms in Outpatients with a Complaint of Headache

Abstract

Purpose: This case-control study was designed to determine whether adults who present to a primary care office with a chief complaint of headache have more reported symptoms of depression than adults presenting with other problems.Methods: Adult, English-speaking patients who presented to a primary care office with a chief complaint of headache were matched to adult patients of the same age and sex who presented with problems other than headache. All participants completed the PRIME-MD 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire as a screen for depression.Results: A total of 200 participants entered the study. The mean age of the participants was 43.8 years (range, 18 -87 years). Women constituted 84% of the participants. Of those patients who presented with headache, 32% had a likelihood of possible major depressive disorder compared with 12% in the patients presenting without headache.Conclusions: Almost one-third of adult patients who present to a primary care office with a complaint of headache report moderate symptoms of depression when screened compared with approximately 10% of patients presenting with a complaint other than headache. Given such a high prevalence of these symptoms, primary care physicians should screen all adult patients who present with headache for depression. It is estimated that more than 90% of adults experience at least one headache each year. Although the majority of those adults do not seek medical attention for this problem, headache is one of the top reasons for people to seek outpatient medical care. Depression is also a common disorder seen in the outpatient setting. In primary care, anywhere from 5% to 10% of outpatients have major depression.

Characteristics in patients with headache in an outpatient clinic in Japan

“…On the other hand, 1.7% out of remained patients who chiefly complained of symptoms other than headache were depression, suggesting approximately 5 times higher prevalence of depression in patients with headache. Marlow et al [14] have reported that 32% of patients with headache were depression whereas 12% patients without headache were depression, indicating 3-times higher prevalence of depression in patients with headache, supporting our present results. Chung et al [15] have demonstrated that patients who presented with a chief complaint of headache in the outpatient family practice setting were found to have a high prevalence of depression.…”

The Economic Impact of Loss of Performance Due to Absenteeism and Presenteeism Caused by Depressive Symptoms and Comorbid Health Conditions among Japanese Workers

“…Depressive symptoms include comorbid conditions such as depression, anxiety, or emotional disorders, back or neck disorders 6 ) , migraines or chronic headaches 7 ) , stomach or bowel disorders 8 ) , and insomnia 9 ) . To determine the total burden of depressive symptoms, it is necessary to take these comorbid conditions into account.…”

The Association Between Giant Hydrocele and Depression in a Rural Clinic in Nigeria

“…As in previous studies (Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001;Marlow et al, 2009; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2009), patients with scores of ≥5 were diagnosed as depressed and those <5 free of depression. The technical justification for doing so was to construct 2 × 2 tables to enable statistical analysis.…”

“…Rodin and Voshart (1986) reported the occurrence of mild to moderate symptoms of depression in up to one third of medical in-patients. Previous studies by MacHale (2002) and Marlow, Kegowicz, and Starkey (2009) further reported different prevalence rates of depressive illness in different disease conditions. They reported prevalence rates of about 25% in patients with diabetes and cardiac or neurological disease and 32% among patients with headache in Arizona.…”