A recently published study from the University of Toledo has found that women who suffer from chronic headaches are at a greater risk for depression.
Approximately eighteen million women in America suffer from headaches. The University of Toledo-Health Science Campus study had more than a thousand participants from five states who visited headache clinics for treatment. More than half the women in the study (593) reported less than fifteen headaches per month; this is classified as “episodic” headaches. The rest of the participants (439) reported more than fifteen headaches in a month. More than fifteen headaches each month is classified as a chronic problem.
Almost all of the study participants were diagnosed with migraines, a particular and painful type of headache. Other types of headache include stress or tension headache, cluster headache, and secondary headache — a headache that is a symptom of another issue, like a sinus infection or a trauma.
The women with chronic headaches were four times more likely to report symptoms of depression than those with episodic headaches. Women with migraines considered “severely disabling” were at a very high risk for depression — thirty-two times higher than those with episodic headaches. The women with chronic headaches were also three times more likely to report other headache symptoms, like low energy, sleep problems, dizziness and nausea, and body pain. (Have you seen those commercials lately with the ominous voice-over: Where does depression hurt?)
The study author said that the physical pain of headache and body ache may be a manifestation of depression symptoms. Depression may heighten pain perception, making headaches or body ache seem worse. The University of Toledo-Health Science Campus suggests that psychiatric diseases (like depression) can complicate headache and pain management. This can lead to less successful chronic headache management for patients with both headaches and depression.
- Learn more about migraines.
- Learn about different types of headache.
- Learn more about pain management.
- Learn more about depression.
- Learn more about antidepressants.