[Psychological characteristics of children and adolescents with primary headache]

Primary headache involved almost one half of the population in developmental age. This ailment still increased. Authors likes to determined endogenous and environmental factors of resulting headache in children and adolescents.

The group of 78 children and adolescents, 49 girls and 29 boys, aged 6-17 years, with primary headaches were analysed. 28 of them suffered from migraine, 43 from tension headaches and 7 from from of these types of headaches. WISC-R and WAIS-R, Bender-Koppitz and Benton tests and questionaires "who are you", ISCL-STAI and projections, discussion with children and their parents were used. Statistical analysis was done with Fisher, variations and a posteriori Scheffe tests.

In almost all patients IQ was normal. 16-18% of children in D. Wechsler subtests showed disturbances of the memory, visual brightness, spatial, visuo-motor organisation. Subtests data were higher in children with migraine. In 22-30% of children with primary headaches intellectual development was disharmonic. In 13-21% of analysed children disturbances were present of the development visuo-motor integretion, visual memory, and specific school abilities. Emotional status in children with headaches was also disturbed. Migraineurs were rarer repressed, negative emotion and were more often self-confident. Majority of children had school problems, which was relevant to discrepancy between the level of aspirations and achievements. Moreover. children with tension headaches had more often real problems with school obligations. Almost one half of the children had family problems.

Tension-type headache were more frequent in children above 12 years of age. Majority of children and adolescents with primary headache were intellectually normal, but IQ and subtest data were higher in the migrainieurs. Partial cognitive deficits could be risk factors for headache, particulary tension-type headache. Majority of children with primary headache had school problems and almost one half of them had family problems.