Frequency and pattern of common primary headache among depressed patients at tertiary care centre, Karachi.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of co-morbid common primary headaches among depressed patients.

METHODS: This study was conducted at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, from July to December 2014, and comprised depressed patients. Diagnosis of depressive disorder was based on diagnostic criteria of International Classification of Diseases (10th version). For the diagnosis of common primary headaches, International Classification of Headache Disorders (2nd edition) criteria were applied. SPSS 17 was used for data analysis.

RESULTS: Of the 331 participants, 129(39%) were males and 202(61%) were females. The overall mean age was 31.40±8.6 years (range: 18-50 years). Besides, 208(62.83%) participants had no headache and 123(37.16%) had common primary headaches. Of the latter, 18(5.4%) had migraine with aura, 49(14.8%) had migraine without aura and 56(16.9%) had tension-type headache. Common primary headaches were more common in females and among those having severe depressive disorder.

CONCLUSIONS: The primary headache was common among outpatients with depressive disorder, predominantly tension-type headache and migraine without aura.