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Headache in children in Dutch general practice
J C van der Wouden1, P van der Pas, M A Bruijnzeels
1Department of General Practice, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. vanderwouden@hag.fgg.eur.nl
Cephalalgia : an International Journal of Headache
|May 11, 1999
Summary
Headache is common in general practice for children, often linked to infections. For idiopathic headaches, consider psychosocial factors like family or school issues.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- General Practice
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Headache is a frequent reason for pediatric consultations in general practice.
- Understanding its prevalence, diagnosis, and management is crucial for primary care providers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail the incidence of headache in children presenting to general practice.
- To analyze the diagnoses and management strategies employed for pediatric headaches.
- To investigate the association of headaches with infectious and psychosocial factors.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Dutch national survey of morbidity and interventions in general practice.
- Analyzed 63,753 children aged 0-14 years across 103 general practices.
- Calculated incidence rates for headache presentations and specific diagnoses like idiopathic headache.
Main Results:
- Headache occurred in 634 episodes, with an incidence of 40.2 per 1000 person-years.
- Over half of headaches were linked to infections, primarily upper respiratory tract infections.
- Idiopathic headache incidence was 7.3 per 1000 person-years, increasing with age and higher in girls; psychosocial issues were noted in non-infectious cases.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric headache is a common general practice issue, frequently associated with infections.
- General practitioners should consider psychosocial factors in children diagnosed with idiopathic headache.