Prevalence of Depression among Patients with Headache in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Zuraida N.Z., and Pamareswaran, P., (2007) Prevalence of Depression among Patients with Headache in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Psychiatry, 16 (2). ISSN 0128-8628

Abstract

The headache is the most common neurological symptom and one of the most common medical complaints. Ten percent of all people report that headache interferes with their daily lives. Headache syndromes have been associated with psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety and phobia. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of depression among patients suffering from severe headache. Methods: This was a cross sectional study among patients attending an outpatient headache clinic. 106 subjects and 106 controls participated in the study. The details of basic socio-demographic background, headache history, the intensity and the severity of headache were obtained. Both groups were screened by using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) for psychiatric morbidity and assessed with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-4 (SCID) for current and lifetime prevalence of Major Depression. Results: 46% of the subjects and 8% of controls were ‘case’ for psychiatric morbidity. The lifetime prevalence of Major Depression was 17% whereas the current prevalence of Major Depression among the patients was 8%. The rate of depression among patients with migraine headache was higher than the other types of headache. There was no statistical significant correlation between either the intensity or severity of pain and psychological distress. Conclusion: Patients with severe headache were more distressed and had higher prevalence of depression.

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Abstract