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Frequent Headaches (frequent + headaches)
Selected AbstractsPrimary Headache in Italian Early Adolescents: The Role of Perceived Teacher UnfairnessHEADACHE, Issue 3 2009Massimo Santinello BA Background., The impact of perceived teacher unfairness on headache incidence has previously been insufficiently investigated. Objective., The aims of the study are to analyze the prevalence of headache among Italian early adolescents as well as to examine the role of perceived teacher unfairness and classmate social support in predicting this health outcome. Methods., Data were taken from the "Health Behaviour in School Aged Children," a cross-sectional survey investigating health behaviors among early adolescents in selected European countries. Headache, perceived teacher unfairness, and classmate social support were measured through a self-administered questionnaire filled out by a representative sample of 4386 (48.4% males) Italian students (11, 13, and 15 years old). Covariates included demographic characteristics (age, gender) and socioeconomic status (parental educational attainment), and other confounding psychological factors (eg, family empowerment, bullying). Results., Prevalence of frequent headaches (at least once a week) was about 40%. Girls were more likely to report frequent headaches compared with boys. Prevalence of frequent headaches increased with age. After adjusting for age and gender, teacher unfairness showed a significant association with frequent headache (P < .001). This relationship remained significant even after additional adjustment for several psychosocial factors. Classmate social support seems to act as a protective factor, but not as a buffering mechanism against the negative effects of teacher unfairness. Conclusions., Italian early adolescents show a quite high prevalence of frequent headache. Results show that characteristics of the school setting, such as teacher unfairness and classmate social support, can be significant predictors of frequent headache among early adolescents. Longitudinal research is needed to delineate causal relationships between school factors and recurrent headache. [source] Carnitine Palmityltransferase II (CPT2) Deficiency and Migraine Headache: Two Case ReportsHEADACHE, Issue 5 2003Marielle A. Kabbouche MD Background.,Migraine headache is common and has multiple etiologies. A number of mitochondrial anomalies have been described for migraine, and mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated as one potential pathophysiological mechanism. Carnitine is used by mitochondria for fatty acid transportation; its deficiency, however, has not been implicated in migraine pathophysiology. Methods and Results.,Two adolescent girls presented to the Headache Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with frequent headaches and were diagnosed with migraine by the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria. Both girls had a history of recurrent fatigue, muscle cramps, and multiple side effects from their prophylactic treatment. Carnitine levels were measured and found to be low. Carnitine supplementation was initiated. Both patients had a reduction in headache frequency, as well as an improvement in their associated symptoms and other complaints. A skin and muscle biopsy obtained from one patient revealed a partial carnitine palmityltransferase II deficiency in the muscle only. Conclusion.,Carnitine palmityltransferase II deficiency may represent another etiology for migraine headache, and may be useful in further defining the pathophysiology of migraine. When properly recognized, supplementation with carnitine may improve the outcome of the migraine as well as the carnitine-associated symptoms. [source] Psychosocial Impact of Headache and Comorbidity with Other Pains among Swedish School AdolescentsHEADACHE, Issue 8 2002Åsa Fichtel MSc Background.,The psychosocial impact of headache combined with other pains has previously been insufficiently investigated. Objective., The present study examined the prevalence of headache, its comorbidity with other pains and psychosocial impact among adolescents. Methods., 793 adolescents in a sample recruited from 8 schools in the middle of Sweden were assessed. Results.,Forty-five percent of the adolescents reported ongoing pain during assessment and more than half of the adolescents reported at least one frequent pain during the previous 6 months. The most common pain among girls was headache (42%), but for boys muscle pain (32%) was most prevalent. Number of pains and perceived pain disability were also higher among girls than boys. One-third of the headache sufferers had headache only, while one-third reported one other frequent pain and the others had at least two other frequent pains. Overall, adolescents with frequent headaches had higher levels of anxiety or depressive symptoms, in addition to functional disability and usage of analgesic medication. Frequent headache sufferers reported more problems in everyday life areas than those with infrequent headaches. Conclusions.,It is recommended that adolescents suffering from recurrent headaches routinely should be asked about the presence of other pains, anxiety and depressive symptoms, medication usage, in addition to psychosocial consequences in their everyday life activities. Longitudinal research is also needed to delineate causal relationships between psychosocial factors and recurrent pains, in particular regarding possible sex differences. [source] Factors associated with the temporomandibular disorder, pain dysfunction syndrome (PDS): Manchester case,control studyORAL DISEASES, Issue 6 2001TV Macfarlane OBJECTIVES:,To determine the individual and combined effects of potential risk factors in relation to the temporomandibular disorder, Pain Dysfunction Syndrome (PDS). DESIGN:,Case,control study. MATERIAL AND METHODS:,Cases were new referrals to the temporomandibular disorder clinic of the University Dental Hospital of Manchester, diagnosed with PDS. Controls were randomly selected from 24 dental practices. Using a postal questionnaire information was collected on socio-demographic, local mechanical, psychological factors, co-morbidities and illness behaviour. The adjusted participation rate was similar in cases and controls (64%), and 131 cases and 196 controls finally participated in the study. RESULTS:,Compared with the controls, the cases were more likely to report that their teeth felt as though they did not fit together properly [odds ratio (OR) 8, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 6,13] and report history of facial trauma (OR 3, 95% CI 2,6). Both diurnal and nocturnal grinding were significantly associated with PDS, and individuals who reported grinding their teeth both during the day and at night had a risk of 6; 95% CI 3,13 for PDS compared with those who did not. A history of orthodontic treatment, having any dentures, having missing teeth, use of chewing gum or biting the fingernails did not show any relationship with PDS. People who took medication for the bowels had a higher risk of PDS (OR 2, 95% CI 1,4). Participants with frequent headaches had a threefold increase in risk of having PDS (OR 3, 95% CI 2,5) while having pain in parts of the body other than the head was associated with an OR of 3 (95% CI 2,5). An increased propensity to have PDS was seen in those individuals with higher levels of psychological distress (OR 3; 95% CI 1,4 in the highest category, test for trend P < 0.001) and sleep disturbance (OR 5; 95% CI 2,94 in the highest category, test for trend P < 0.001). Aspects of illness behaviour, such as disease conviction (OR 4; 95% CI 2,9 in the highest category) and perception of illness (0.3; 95% CI 0.2,0.5) were associated with PDS. The result for the denial scale became statistically significant after adjustment for age and gender (2; 95% CI 1,3). CONCLUSIONS:,The current case,control study provides complementary epidemiological information on oro-facial pain (OFP) and supports a multifactorial aetiology of PDS, with factors from many domains, including local mechanical factors, psychological and co-morbidities. People with PDS were characterized by frequent headaches, history of facial trauma, teeth grinding, sleep problems, pain elsewhere in the body and high levels of psychological distress. From the results of current study and available evidence it seems inappropriate to consider PDS in isolation and future research should adopt a multidisciplinary approach to OFP. [source] Prevalence and Persistence of Health Problems After Childbirth: Associations with Parity and Method of BirthBIRTH, Issue 2 2002Jane F. Thompson MSc ABSTRACT: Background: Awareness about the extent of maternal physical and emotional health problems after childbirth is increasing, but few longitudinal studies examining their duration have been published. The aim of this study was to describe changes in the prevalence of maternal health problems in the 6 months after birth and their association with parity and method of birth. Methods: A population-based, cohort study was conducted in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia. The study population, comprising women who gave birth to a live baby from March to October 1997, completed 4 questionnaires on the fourth postpartum day, and at 8, 16, and 24 weeks postpartum. Outcome measures were self-reported health problems during each of the three 8-week postpartum periods up to 24 weeks. Results: A total of 1295 women participated, and 1193 (92%) completed the study. Health problems showing resolution between 8 and 24 weeks postpartum were exhaustion/extreme tiredness (60,49%), backache (53,45%), bowel problems (37,17%), lack of sleep/baby crying (30,15%), hemorrhoids (30,13%), perineal pain (22,4%), excessive/prolonged bleeding (20,2%), urinary incontinence (19,11%), mastitis (15,3%), and other urinary problems (5,3%). No significant changes occurred in the prevalence of frequent headaches or migraines, sexual problems, or depression over the 6 months. Adjusting for method of birth, primiparas were more likely than multiparas to report perineal pain and sexual problems. Compared with unassisted vaginal births, women who had cesarean sections reported more exhaustion, lack of sleep, and bowel problems; reported less perineal pain and urinary incontinence in the first 8 weeks; and were more likely to be readmitted to hospital within 8 weeks of the birth. Women with forceps or vacuum extraction reported more perineal pain and sexual problems than those with unassisted vaginal births after adjusting for parity, perineal trauma, and length of labor. Conclusions: Health problems commonly occurred after childbirth with some resolution over the 6 months postpartum. Some important differences in prevalence of health problems were evident when parity and method of birth were considered. (BIRTH 29:2 June 2002) [source] | ||||||||||