title: Anger and emotional distress in patients with migraine and tension-type headache.
abstract: The objective was to evaluate the prevalence and the characteristics of anger and emotional distress in migraine and tension- type headache patients. Two hundred and one headache patients attending the Headache Center of the University of Turin were selected for the study and divided into 5 groups: (1) migraine, (2) episodic tension-type headache, (3) chronic tension-type headache, (4) migraine associated with episodic tension-type headache and (5) migraine associated with chronic tension-type headache. A group of 45 healthy subjects served as controls. All the subjects completed the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Beck's Depression Inventory and the Cognitive Behavioral Assessment. Anger control was significantly lower in all headache patients (p<0.05) except in migraineurs. Patients with migraine and tension-type headache showed a significantly higher level of angry temperament and angry reaction (p<0.05). In addition, chronic tension-type headache and migraine associated with tension-type headache patients reported a higher level of anxiety (p<0.05), depression (p<0.001), phobias (p<0.001) and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p<0.01), emotional liability (p<0.001) and psychophysiological disorders (p<0.001). Our study shows that chronic tension-type headache and migraine associated with tension-type headache patients present a significant impairment of anger control and suggests a connection between anger and the duration of headache experience.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Carlo Molo, CE.R.NE., Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perozzo
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Savi
authors.forename: Lorys
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castelli
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Valfrè
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lo Giudice
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gentile
authors.forename: Innocenzo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rainero
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pinessi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D020773:Headache Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D018781:Tension-Type Headache / Q000523:psychology*