P044. Anger expression in chronic daily headache patients with and without psychiatric comorbidity.

Abstract

Background Previous studies suggest the high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity in chronic daily headache (CDH) patients. In particular, CDH patients showed higher frequency of anxiety and depressive disorders than episodic migraineurs [1,2]. However, negative affect emotions (like depression, anxiety and anger) influence the course and impact of headache within the normal range of affective experience, not simply when an Axis I disorder is present [3]. In the literature it is reported that individuals with headache are more likely to hold their anger-in than controls. Individuals who hold anger-in experience an increased pain severity, failure to express anger leads to more disability [4,5]. Anger levels in headache are supposed to be related to anxiety and depression [6,7], but one study showed that headache patients hold their anger-in more than controls, even after controlling for depression and anxiety [8]. The aim of this study was to investigate if anger expression levels in CDH patients are related to psychiatric comorbidity.