[Headache and functional symptoms].

INTRODUCTION

Headaches are a common reason for visiting neurology clinics. They have their origin in a variety of causes and their specific diagnosis deteriorates as it overlaps with other chronic painful pathologies. Somatic functional syndromes are characterised by chronic painful conditions that have a negative effect on quality of life, and are accompanied by functional symptoms with no organic cause.

AIMS: The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of functional symptoms in patients who visited due to headaches.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

The sample included all the patients who visited the walk-in neurology clinic because of headaches between March and September 2014. A semi-structured survey was carried out in order to evaluate obsessive personality traits, bruxism, gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.

RESULTS

During the period under study, 125 patients visited due to headache. In all, 68.7% of patients with migraine presented functional symptoms and only 32.7% in the case of other headaches (p = 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Functional symptoms were prevalent in patients with headache, mainly in those with migraine.