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Alexithymia in juvenile primary headache sufferers: a pilot study
Michela Gatta1, Elisabetta Canetta, Maria Zordan
1Paediatrics Department, University of Padua, Padua, Italy. michela.gatta@unipd.it
The Journal of Headache and Pain
|August 24, 2010
Summary
Children with tension-type headaches show higher alexithymia rates. This study explored the link between childhood headaches and alexithymia, finding no correlation between children and their mothers.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Neurology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Alexithymia, a personality construct characterized by difficulty identifying and describing emotions, has been observed in adults with primary headaches.
- Research on the connection between alexithymia and primary headaches in children and adolescents is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between tension-type headache and alexithymia in children and early adolescents.
- To examine the correlation between alexithymia in children/preadolescents and their mothers.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 32 children/preadolescents with tension-type headache (experimental group) and 32 age- and sex-matched controls.
- Diagnosis of tension-type headache followed the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-II).
- Alexithymia was assessed using the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children for patients and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) for mothers.
Main Results:
- Children and preadolescents with tension-type headache exhibited significantly higher rates of alexithymia compared to the control group.
- No significant correlation was found between the alexithymia levels of the children/preadolescents and their mothers within the experimental group.
Conclusions:
- Alexithymia may be a relevant characteristic in pediatric tension-type headache.
- Further research is needed to understand the complex interplay between alexithymia, primary headaches, and familial factors in developmental age.
