Minor stressful life events (daily hassles) in chronic primary headache: relationship with MMPI personality patterns

This study investigated the relationship between minor life events (i.e. daily hassles) and personality patterns from selected scales of MMPI in the persistence of primary headache in 83 patients. Comparisons between headache subgroups indicated that tension-type headache patients are much more likely than those with migraine to have experienced high level of microstress (hassles density), with mixed headache in between. Tension-type headache patients reported higher MMPI scores on scales 1, Hypochondriasis (somatic concern), scale 3, Hysteria (denial) and scale 7, Psychasthenia (anxiety), but not on scale 2 (Depression), than migrainous patients. In addition, individuals with high level of microstress appeared to be more depressed and anxious than low-stress headache patients, scoring significantly higher on MMPI scales 2 (Depression) and 7 (Psychasthenia). As no significant differences due to sex, age, headache history and status, except for the headache density (i.e. severity x frequency) appeared, it is likely that high-stress levels are due, at least in part, to greater density of pain, rather than to discrete headache syndromes. Our findings support the notion that depressed mood and anxiety may account for a third intervening variable in the relationship between chronic headache and life stress.