Headache and other types of chronic pain

To compare pain severity, disability, psychological distress, and quality of life between patients with headache and nonheadache treatment-seeking chronic pain patients.

Six hundred forty-three patients seeking treatment at a university pain clinic were divided into 3 categories based on primary pain complaint and the presence of focal or diffuse pain complaints: headache, nonheadache focal (pain involving <50% of the body), and nonheadache diffuse (pain involving >/=50% of the body). Patients completed questionnaires to identify pain severity, disability, depression, anxiety, and quality of life.

Patients with headache differed from nonheadache patients for all evaluated parameters. Average pain severity on a 0 to 10 point severity scale was 5.55 for headache, 6.93 for nonheadache focal, and 8.05 for nonheadache diffuse. Pain occurred an additional 1.51 to 1.71 days per week for patients without headache. Compared to patients with headache, patients without headache reported greater frequency of reduced daily activities and complete disability related to pain. In addition, patients without headache and with diffuse pain reported more depression (78.2% vs. 45.8%) and anxiety (70.0% vs. 39.1%) than patients with headache. Quality of life measures were significantly reduced in patients with either nonheadache focal or diffuse conditions compared to patients with headache.

Even when considering patients with focal rather than diffuse chronic pain complaints, patients with headache are dissimilar from other patients with chronic pain. Pain severity, frequency, disability, psychological distress, and quality of life are significantly more prominent or impaired in patients with chronic pain without headache compared to patients with headache.