- Published:
Stress and chronic headache
The Journal of Headache and Pain volume 1, pages S49–S52 (2000)
Abstract
The aims of this study were to assess how stress affects chronic headaches, and in particular to determine whether events play a role in the transformation of an episodic headache into a chronic form. A population of 267 Italian patients with chronic headache (headache present on average more than 15 days per month) was studied. Our results confirm a triggering role of stress on headache. We also found that episodic headache (migraine in most patients, 74.1%) preceded the development of a chronic form in about 90% cases. Among these patients, in 44.8% a stressful event correlated with the transformation. Analysis of these events revealed that minor events played a greater role than major life events, suggesting that patients with transformed headache are characterised by a different way of reacting to stress.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
D'Amico, D., Libro, G., Prudenzano, M. et al. Stress and chronic headache. J Headache Pain 1 (Suppl 1), S49–S52 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s101940070026
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s101940070026