Headache: a lot of stress, a lot of suffering

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MunichAnyone who has frequent headaches has suspected it for a long time: More stress in life increases the number of attacks. The effect is particularly great for some types of headache.

Researchers led by Sara Schramm from the University Hospital in Duisburg-Essen came to this conclusion. Over a period of two years, they interviewed 5159 people between the ages of 21 and 71 four times a year. Participants provided information on how often they had headaches per month and how severe the attacks were. They also rated their levels of stress on a scale from one to one hundred.

Migraineurs feel more stressed

The majority of respondents (31 percent) suffered from tension headaches, 14 percent had migraines. Another 11 percent tormented a combination of both. With the rest of the population, the headaches could not be classified - or they did not get any headache at all.

An initial evaluation showed that migraine sufferers felt more stressed overall than participants who suffered from tension headaches: the migraineurs averaged 62 points on the stress scale, tension headaches ten points less.

Frequent headache attacks

For all headache types, the researchers found a connection between stress and the frequency of attacks. The result: stress promotes tension headaches in particular. If the stress scale increased by ten points, the frequency of days with tension headaches increased by 6.3 percent. Migraine sufferers whose stress level rose also experienced attacks more frequently, albeit to a lesser extent. For them, the number of monthly complaints rose by 4.3 percent when the values ​​on the stress scale rose by ten points.

Stress management as a therapy component

"Stress is a problem for everyone who suffers from headaches," explains study director Schramm. The results supported the concept that stress contributes to the development of headaches, promotes the progression of chronic headaches, and exacerbates headache episodes. Schramm says: "The study underscores the importance of stress management for headache patients."

The scientists will present the results of the study at the 66th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, which will take place in Philadelphia from April 26 to May 3, 2014. (cf)

Source: Press release, American Academy of Neurology, February 19, 2014

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