Prevalence of depression symptoms in outpatients with a complaint of headache.
OBJECTIVE
This case-control study was designed to determine whether adults who present to a primary care office with a chief complaint of headache have more reported symptoms of depression than adults presenting with other problems.


METHODS
Adult, English-speaking patients who presented to a primary care office with a chief complaint of headache were matched to adult patients of the same age and sex who presented with problems other than headache. All participants completed the PRIME-MD 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire as a screen for depression.


RESULTS
A total of 200 participants entered the study. The mean age of the participants was 43.8 years (range, 18-87 years). Women constituted 84% of the participants. Of those patients who presented with headache, 32% had a likelihood of possible major depressive disorder compared with 12% in the patients presenting without headache.


CONCLUSIONS
Almost one-third of adult patients who present to a primary care office with a complaint of headache report moderate symptoms of depression when screened compared with approximately 10% of patients presenting with a complaint other than headache. Given such a high prevalence of these symptoms, primary care physicians should screen all adult patients who present with headache for depression.
Marlow
Robert A
RA
Scottsdale Healthcare Family Medicine Residency Program, Scottsdale, Arizona 85251, USA. rmarlow@shc.org
Kegowicz
Cynthia L
CL
Starkey
Kimberly N
KN
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001130:Arizona / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult