The bidirectional temporal relationship between headache and affective disorders: longitudinal data from the HUNT...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Prospective population-based studies on the bidirectional relationship between headache and affective disorders are limited.
• This study investigates the long-term association between tension-type headache (TTH), migraine, anxiety, and depression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine if TTH and migraine increase the risk of developing anxiety and depression over 11 years.
• To determine if anxiety and depression increase the risk of developing TTH and migraine over 11 years.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) with baseline (2006-2008) and follow-up (2017-2019) assessments.
• Assessed bidirectional relationships between migraine, TTH, anxiety, and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
• Employed Poisson regression analysis on a large population cohort.

Main Results:

• Anxiety and depression at baseline nearly doubled the risk of developing migraine and increased TTH risk by 40% at follow-up.
• TTH and migraine at baseline increased the risk of anxiety and depression at follow-up.
• Migraine with aura showed a significant association with an increased risk of anxiety.

Conclusions:

• A bidirectional relationship exists between anxiety/depression and migraine/TTH.
• The association between anxiety and headache disorders was more pronounced for migraine than for TTH.