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Relation between headache in childhood and physical and psychiatric symptoms in adulthood: national birth cohort
1Institute of Psychiatry and Guy's, King's and St Thomas's School of Medicine, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF. p.fearon@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Insights
Children experiencing frequent headaches face a higher risk of adult headache, physical symptoms, and psychiatric issues. Early psychosocial support may improve long-term health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood headaches are linked to psychosocial factors.
- Understanding these associations is crucial for predicting adult health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between frequent childhood headaches and psychosocial factors.
- To assess the long-term risk of adult headache, physical symptoms, and psychiatric conditions in children with frequent headaches.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a population-based birth cohort study design.
- Included participants from the National Child Development Study (established 1958).
- Assessed headache, multiple physical symptoms, and psychiatric morbidity at age 33.
Main Results:
- Childhood headache correlated with various psychosocial factors.
- Children with frequent headaches showed increased adult risks for headache (OR 2.22), multiple physical symptoms (OR 1.75), and psychiatric morbidity (OR 1.41).
- Adult headache and physical symptoms were independent of psychiatric morbidity.
Conclusions:
- Childhood headache is a predictor of adult headache recurrence.
- Children with headaches are also prone to other adult physical and psychiatric symptoms.
- Interventions addressing childhood psychosocial adversity may enhance adult prognosis.
Objective:
To elucidate the associations between frequent headache and psychosocial factors in childhood and to determine whether such children are at an increased risk of headache, multiple physical symptoms, and psychiatric symptoms in adulthood.
Design:
Population based birth cohort study.
Setting:
General population.
Participants:
People participating in the national child development study, a population based birth cohort study established in 1958.
Main Outcome Measures:
Headache, multiple physical symptoms, and psychiatric morbidity at age 33.
Results:
Headache in childhood was associated with several psychosocial factors. Prospectively, children with frequent headache had an increased risk in adulthood of headache (odds ratio 2.22, 95% confidence interval 1.62 to 3.06), multiple physical symptoms (1.75, 1.46 to 2.10), and psychiatric morbidity (1.41, 1.20 to 1.66). The outcomes of headache and multiple physical symptoms were not accounted for by psychiatric morbidity.
Conclusion:
Children with headache are at an increased risk of recurring headache in adulthood and may complain of other physical and psychiatric symptoms. Strategies for coping with psychosocial adversity in childhood may improve the prognosis in adulthood.