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Clinical experience with headaches in preadolescent children
1Department of Medicine and Psychiatry, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander, Spain.
Headache
|October 1, 1995
Summary
Most childhood headaches evaluated by neurologists are migraines, a benign condition. This study found headaches are common in children aged 7-14, particularly in girls, but most diagnoses are not serious.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Child Neurology
- Headache Medicine
Background:
- Headaches are a frequent complaint in pediatric neurology consultations.
- Understanding the specific diagnoses and demographics of pediatric headaches is crucial for accurate evaluation and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the diagnostic patterns of headaches in children aged 7 to 14 years presenting to a neurologist.
- To compare the prevalence and types of headaches in preadolescent children with other age groups.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 654 pediatric patients (aged 7-14) evaluated for headaches.
- Analysis of diagnoses, including migraine, tension-type headache, and other headache types.
- Comparison of headache prevalence and characteristics between genders and age groups.
Main Results:
- Headaches were more prevalent in this age group (18.3%) than their representation in the population (12.9%).
- Migraine was the most common diagnosis (93%), followed by tension-type headache (4%) and sinus infection-related headaches (1%).
- Serious conditions like intracranial masses were rare (0.3%), indicating most headaches are benign.
Conclusions:
- The majority of preadolescent children presenting with headaches to neurologists suffer from benign conditions, primarily migraine.
- While headaches are common, serious underlying pathology is infrequent in this pediatric cohort.
- Further research into gender-specific patterns and migraine prevalence in younger males is warranted.