Prevalence of anxiety and depression in migraine or tension type headache in patients with or without vertigo

Abstract

Background: Epidemiological studies have established a strong association between primary headaches and psychiatric disorders and the reported prevalence was 66.1% of depressive and anxiety disorders. The primary objective of this research was to study association of vertigo with anxiety and/or depression in patients of migraine or tension type headache (TTH) whereas secondary objective was to study prevalence of anxiety and depression in migraine or TTH patients. Methods and Materials: This cross sectional observational study was conducted between September 2015 and February 2017 in patients aged 18 to 70 years of either sex with migraine or TTH with or without vertigo. We used The International classification of headache disorders 3 for diagnosis of migraine, and TTH. Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A) and Hamilton depression rating scale (HAM-D) were used to assess anxiety and depression respectively. Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test was used to find the association between HAM-A and HAM-D. Odds ratio was calculated to find the chances of occurrence of anxiety or depression in vertigo with the type of headache. Results: In patients of migraine and TTH with history of vertigo, anxiety and depression was 6.2 times and 2.1 times more prevalent respectively as compared to those without vertigo. Higher percentage of patients with migraine type of headache had depression as compared to TTH patients. Conclusions: Anxiety and depression is common in patients with migraines and TTH therefore proper diagnosis and treatment of anxiety and depression are needed for improved management of patients of migraine and TTH. Keywords: Anxiety, Depression, Migraine, Tension type headache, Vertigo.