[Chronic tension-type headache and depression].
BACKGROUND
Tension-type headache (TTH) is the commonest head pain to be seen in medical practice and is erroneously thought to have a psychogenic origin.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the presence of depression in a cohort of persons with TTH and compare them with patients with migraine and with a control group. The clinical characteristics of patients with TTH were also noted.


METHODS
We studied 89 patients with chronic TTH. Their level of depression (on the Hamilton scale) was compared with 31 patients with migraine with typical aura and a control group of 34 asymptomatic volunteers, matched for age, marital and job status.


RESULTS
No difference was observed in the index of depression of the group of patients with chronic TTH as compared with the control group with migraine: p < 0.9412 and OR 1.07. Compared with the asymptomatic control group: p < 0.0272 and OR 3.81, which are significant figures. After 11 months of prophylactic treatment with imipramine (50 mg/day), levels of depression persisted in 20.02% of the patients, p < 0.06319 and OR 2.01 even when treatment was optimum in 98.8%.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with chronic TTH showed indices of depression in 33.7%. This figure was similar in those with migraine, 32.2%. Also response to treatment was independent of this figure. In 48% of the patients there was fear of having cerebral vascular disease.
Serrano-Dueñas
M
M
Servicio de Neurología, Hospital Carlos Andrade Marín, Facultad de Medicina de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador. serranom@pi.pro.ec
D000328:Adult; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007099:Imipramine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018781:Tension-Type Headache / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*
D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D007099:Imipramine
Cefalea tipo tensional crónica y depresión.