A Preliminary Study of the Proportion of Different Chronic Headache Types and Their Effect on Quality of Life at a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India

TL;DR

This study examines the prevalence of chronic headaches and their impact on quality of life at a hospital in North India.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into the proportion of chronic headache types and their specific effects on quality of life in a North Indian population.

Findings

Tension-type headache was the most common chronic headache type at 61%.

Chronic headaches significantly affected household chores and the feeling of being a burden.

Females made up two-thirds of the chronic headache patients with an average age of 36 years.

Abstract

Introduction

Globally, chronic headaches are one of the most common health problems affecting the productive age group and an individual's quality of life.

Aims

This study aims to find the proportion of different types of chronic headaches and their impact on an individual's quality of life.

Methods

This cross-sectional observational study included patients with chronic headaches (15 or more episodes per month for at least three months, as per the International Headache Society) in the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital. The patients were evaluated on a semi-structured proforma, MINI (Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview) version 7.0.0, ICHD-3 (International Classification of Headache Disorders-Third Edition), and the Chronic Headache Quality of Life Questionnaire (CHQLQ).

Results

A total of 100 subjects with chronic headaches were recruited in the study, which comprised 4.45% of the total number of psychiatry outpatients over the given period. Among the subjects of chronic headache, tension-type headache (TTH) was highest at 61 (61%), followed by migraine at 25 (25%). Out of these, approximately two-thirds were females with a mean age of 36.13±12.93 years. The data analysis frequency and duration of the headache episode were statistically significant, with a p-value of <0.01. All types of headaches negatively affected most of the parameters of quality of life, but they are not statistically significant except for two, i.e., household chores and feeling of burden on others, where the p-value was 0.03 and 0.04, respectively.

Conclusion

The proportion of patients presenting to the Psychiatry Outpatient Department was significant, emphasizing that TTH is a highly prevalent entity causing deterioration in quality of life.