Psychiatric co morbidities in Patients with Tension Type Headache

Abstract

Background: Contemporary literature focuses on Tension type headache as highly prevalent and debilitating which can lead to various psychiatric co morbidities. Aim: 1)To assess the prevalence of tension type headache(both chronic and episodic). 2)To assess the psychiatric comorbidites. 3)Association between types of headache and severity of depression, severity of anxiety and severity of somatic complaints. Materials and Method: Two hundred eighteen patients were assessed and classified according to international headache society classification (IHS). Depression, anxiety and physical somatic complaints were assessed by using Hamilton rating scales for depression anxiety and Patient Health Questionnaire Physical Symptoms (PHQ-15). The data was analyzed using the statistical software SPSS version 20. Result: Our study showed mean age of participants with headache to be 33 years, 76% are females and 3/4th of the samples are married hailing from lower socioeconomic status. Around half of the participants are housewives and 21% are employed and 12% are students. Mild levels of anxiety and physical somatic symptoms were exhibited by patients with both episodic and chronic tension type headache. Conclusion: In this study we found that anxiety and physical somatic symptoms are co-morbid with tension type headache as compared to depression and slightly higher prevalence in female participants who suffered from episodic headaches and male participants were diagnosed with chronic tension type headache. How to cite this article:Bansal P, Jiloha RC. Psychiatric Comorbidities in Patients with Tension Type Headache. J Adv Res Psychol Psychother 2020; 3(1): 19-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2581.5822.202004