Longitudinal study shows that depression in childhood is associated with a worse evolution of headaches in adolescence

Aim The aim of this study was to examine the course of headache diagnosis, headache frequency, anxiety, comorbid depressive symptoms and school absenteeism in adolescents with migraine and tension-type headaches five years after baseline. Methods We followed a group of 122 children with a mean age of 10.1 (±1.3) years, with headache from a paediatric migraine centre in Paris who had taken part in a previous study from September 2007 to June 2008. This five-year longitudinal study took place in January to June 2012. The measures that were used included demographic variables, headache diagnosis, headache data and a psychological assessment. Results At the five-year point, about 22% of the children had become headache free, 34% had little to no disability and 36% had a changed diagnosis. Moreover, a longer history of headache at baseline was associated with a worse evolution of headache at follow up. Lastly, high depression scores, but not anxiety, was a predictor of more headache disability at follow up. Conclusion High depression scores in childhood was a risk factor that was associated with persistence and worsening of headaches in adolescence. This suggests that mental health assessments should be carried out in paediatric headache pain clinics. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.