title: Prevalences of primary headache symptoms at school-entry: a population-based epidemiological survey of preschool children in Germany.
abstract: Primary headache and functional abdominal pain prevalences in an unselected population-based sample of German preschool children and their parents (n=885) were collected in relation to health-related quality of life and sociodemographic variables. The pain symptoms were assessed according to IHS classification (2004) and Rome-II criteria (1999) during the 2004 data census. The participation rate was 62.7%, with an equal gender distribution. The focus of this paper lies on the symptom-oriented point prevalences for primary headaches of preschool children: 3.6% headache, 33.2% abdominal pain, 48.8% headache+abdominal pain and 14.4% without pain. High comorbidities for pain-affected children have been found. Pain intensities differ significantly only for abdominal pain (one-way ANOVA F=3,339, df=4/445, p=0.010*), not for headaches. However, recurrent headaches show a striking ratio in favour of boys (10:1). Children at preschool age have high quality-of-life measures, already influenced negatively by paediatric pain experiences (one-way ANOVA: F=9,193, df=4/546, p=0.000**). Headache and abdominal pain are relevant for children's everyday life; hence, simultaneous and prospective assessment is an essential issue in public health research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty, University Duisburg - Essen, Essen, Germany. gabriele.ostkirchen@uni-essen.de
authors.forename: Gabriele Gerda
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Ostkirchen
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Andler
authors.forename: Friederike
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.forename: Kerstin Daniela
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Pöhler
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Snyder-Schendel
authors.forename: Nina Kerstin
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Markett
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Horacek
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Jöckel
authors.forename: Hans Christoph
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Diener
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006261:Headache / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012008:Recurrence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires