The evolution of headache from childhood to adulthood: a review of the literature

Abstract

Headache is one of the most common disorders in childhood, with an estimated 75% of children reporting significant headache by the age of 15 years. Pediatric migraine is the most frequent recurrent headache disorder, occurring in up to 28% of older teenagers. Headaches rank third among the illness-related causes of school absenteeism and result in substantial psychosocial impairment among pediatric patients.The aim of this study was to clarify the evolution of the clinical features of primary headache in the transition from childhood to adulthood through a review of relevant data available in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases for the period 1988 to July 2013.The search strategy identified 15 published articles which were considered eligible for inclusion in the analysis (i.e. relevant to the investigation of pediatric headache outcome). All were carried out after the publication of the first version of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-I).The availability of data on the evolution of primary headaches over a period of time is important from both a clinical and a public health perspective. The identification of prognostic factors of the evolution of headache (remission or evolution into another headache form) over time should be an objective of future headache research for the development of prevention strategies. Given that headache is a major factor contributing to school absenteeism and poorer quality of life not only in childhood but also in adolescence, understanding the natural history and the management of the different headache forms is vital for our future.

Modelling trajectories of psychosomatic health complaints in children and adolescents: results of the BELLA study

“…Both symptoms are a research field of its own and current reviews [e.g. 17,18] confirm what is known from studies on general PHC. Inconsistent time courses have not been attributed to possible inter-individual differences as yet.…”

Role of the Attachment Style in Determining the Association Between Headache Features and Psychological Symptoms in Migraine Children and Adolescents. An Analytical Observational Case–Control Study

“…Migraine is a complex disease and the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. While there is a clear neurophysiological/biological substrate of pain, the exact nature of the relationship between pain and psychological factors remains unclear . In pediatric population, headache phenotype (severity and clinical characteristics) can be influenced by psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, and stressful life events have been frequently implicated in the onset, exacerbation, and maintenance of headache .…”

Exploring Temporal Patterns of Stress in Adolescent Girls with Headache

“…Seventy‐five percent of children report infrequent tension‐type headache or migraine by the age of 15 (Antonaci et al, ) with rates of headaches in children and adolescents ranging from 8 to 83% (King et al, ). In a global review of headache data, Wöber‐Bingöl () found the overall prevalence of headaches to be 59.2% for girls and 49.3% for boys.…”