Children and adolescents with chronic daily headache

Abstract

Chronic daily headache is a significant problem in children and adolescents. The goal of this review is to paint a picture of this malady. The epidemiology is unclear because definitions have not been uniform. Classification systems reflect what is known in adults. Because the disease duration and the transformation period are so different in children with this disorder, shoehorning children into adult criteria may be problematic. Nevertheless, this article presents an approach to diagnosis and treatment based on what is present in the literature, what has worked with adults, and the consensus among pediatric headache practitioners. Because there is little literature on this subject, the review ends with a series of questions for future study.

Childhood chronic daily headache: a biopsychosocial perspective

“…We diagnosed anxiety and mood disorders in 17 and 15 children respectively, an association observed by others 1,7,9,17,18,22–24 . Stressors that either precipitated or contributed to the maintenance of CDH were considered important factors in 44 (63%) children.…”

“…Gladstein et al emphasized the need to study CDH in children and adolescents (henceforth referred to collectively as children) separately from adults 6 . Subsequently, Gladstein cautioned against ‘shoehorning children into adult criteria’ 7 . Hershey et al suggest that ‘the characterization of CDH in children is incomplete’ 8 .…”

Adolescents with chronic headaches- mental health problems and coping patterns

“…Most studies on chronic headache have focused on adults, but chronic headache is also a major problem in children and adolescents [1]. There are gaps in knowledge of coping and mental health problems in adolescents with chronic headaches [2].…”

Assessment and management of disability in chronic daily headache

“…Use of the adult criteria for diagnosis and management is problematic [14], but all we have. Headaches rank third in line as a cause of absenteeism from school and approximately 25% of Canadian adolescents complain of headaches once a week or more [15].…”