[Depressive symptoms and anxiety in patients with chronic and episodic tension-type headache].

BACKGROUND

Tension-type headache (TTH) is recognized as the most prevalent type of headache. Despite this, there is a limited understanding of the entity's physiology, epidemiology, and clinical presentation. Anxiety and depression are recognized comorbidities present among patients with TTH.

OBJECTIVE

To quantify the prevalence of anxiety and depression among patients with episodic and chronic TTH.

METHOD

fifty patients with episodic TTH and fifty patients with chronic TTH completed Beck's anxiety and depression surveys. Only patients presenting with moderate to severe scores were considered.

RESULTS

among the patients with episodic TTH, anxiety and depression were observed in 30 (60%) and 16 (32%) patients respectively. Among the patients with chronic TTH, anxiety was observed in 22 (44%) patients, and depression was observed in 20 (40%).

CONCLUSION

both comorbidities are important among patients with episodic and chronic TTH. Neglecting this association may result in failure of symptomatic and prophylactic treatment ultimately leading to lost quality of life.