Headache in the Elderly: An Evaluation of Risk Factors

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
SYNOPSISInformation on the prevalence of headache in an ambulatory elderly population was collected from 1,284 participants in a health screening program in Dunedin, Florida. Association between headache and possible risk factors including age, sex, reported symptoms and diseases, drug use, physical characteristics, and sleep patterns were studied. Eleven percent of women and 5 percent of men reported frequent headaches. There was no relationship between age and reported headache in this elderly population. The most commonly reported positions for headache were frontal (35.2 percent) and all over (29.7 percent). In women there was a significant correlation between headache and the total number of other diseases and symptoms reported (p<0.0001). However, in men, there was no such correlation. Numerous specific symptoms were found to be associated with headache in women including: temporary loss of vision, expressive aphasia, and feeling that others do not care. In men, headache was significantly correlated only with paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, feeling lonely, and feeling depressed, Subjects who slept less than seven hours a day reported a greater prevalence of headache (13.5 percent) than those who slept more than seven hours (8.1 percent) (p<0.01). There was no correlation of headache with systolic or diastolic blood pressure, coffee, alcohol or tobacco use, or the amount of time spent watching television. Elderly headache sufferers, in summary, often have other conditions coexisting with and/or contributing to the headaches. Some of these conditions may respond to psychological or medical intervention.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: