College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
College of Nursing, Sri Ramaswami Memorial (SRM) University, Chennai, India.
Pain Manag Nurs. 2020 Oct;21(5):441-448. doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2020.02.066. Epub 2020 Mar 30.
Chronic tension type headache (CTTH) is one of the common cause of hospital visits among adolescents and adults. Chronic tension type headache produces pain, sleep disturbances, and disability among patients leading to a poor quality of life. Knowledge pattern of headache and various associated factors will aid appropriate management.
To identify the headache dimensions and their various influencing factors among patients of chronic tension-type headache.
Using consecutive sampling techniques, 169 patients with chronic tension-type headache were recruited in this cross-sectional survey. Approval was obtained from the Institute's Ethics Committee. The Wong-Baker Foundation Pain intensity scale was used to assess the pain severity.
A pain severity score of 6 out of 10 was reported by 56% of the patients, and the mean pain score reported by the patients was 6.62 ± 1.16. The mean weekly headache frequency was 4.95 ± 0.38, and the mean daily headache duration was 8.68 ± 1.68 hours. Significantly more patients who are married, patients who had a duration of illness less than two years, and patients who were treated with only analgesics reported higher headache severity. Higher headache frequency was reported by significantly more patients who were male, married, from a nuclear family, educated, unskilled laborers or employed, urban inhabitants, or only on analgesics, or had illness duration less than two years. Headache duration was significantly higher in patients who were unskilled laborers or only on analgesics, or had illness duration less than two years.
Patients with chronic tension-type headache experience moderate to high severity of headache, along with substantial duration and frequency, an outcome that was associated with various lifestyle-related factors that can result in stress. Lifestyle modification and nonpharmacological management are thus essential to reduce the severity, frequency, and duration of headache in patients with a chronic tension-type headache and medication overuse.
慢性紧张型头痛（CTTH）是青少年和成年人就诊的常见原因之一。慢性紧张型头痛会导致患者出现疼痛、睡眠障碍和残疾，从而导致生活质量下降。了解头痛的模式和各种相关因素将有助于进行适当的管理。
确定慢性紧张型头痛患者的头痛维度及其各种影响因素。
采用连续抽样技术，对 169 例慢性紧张型头痛患者进行横断面调查。本研究获得了机构伦理委员会的批准。采用 Wong-Baker 面部疼痛量表评估疼痛严重程度。
56%的患者报告疼痛严重程度得分为 6 分（满分 10 分），患者报告的平均疼痛评分为 6.62±1.16。每周头痛发作频率的平均值为 4.95±0.38，每日头痛持续时间的平均值为 8.68±1.68 小时。婚姻状况、病程少于两年、仅使用镇痛药治疗的患者报告的头痛严重程度更高。男性、已婚、来自核心家庭、受教育程度较高、非熟练工人或就业、城镇居民或仅使用镇痛药、病程少于两年的患者报告的头痛发作频率更高。头痛持续时间在非熟练工人或仅使用镇痛药、病程少于两年的患者中显著更高。
慢性紧张型头痛患者的头痛严重程度为中等到重度，头痛持续时间和发作频率均较高，这种情况与各种与生活方式相关的因素有关，这些因素可能导致压力增加。因此，改变生活方式和非药物管理对于减少慢性紧张型头痛患者的头痛严重程度、发作频率和持续时间以及药物滥用至关重要。
