Psychiatric comorbidity of headache in a medical relief camp in a rural area.
BACKGROUND
Headache is one of the most common complaints seen by primary care physicians, but very few well-planned studies have been conducted to know its prevalence.


OBJECTIVE
To study the prevalence of headache and associated psychiatric morbidity.


METHODS
A medical relief camp was held in village Mavta (near Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh) in 2002. Of a total of 1350 registered subjects, 80 with primary complaints of headache were referred to our expert team of psychiatrists.


RESULTS
Sixty-nine subjects (86.25%) had psychiatric morbidity-mainly affective disorders (depression) and panic disorder, dysthymia, alcohol and nicotine dependence. Subjects with migraine and depression were mostly women with onset of symptoms at an early age. Subjects with less education; who were unmarried or had lost a spouse; those with a nuclear family; who were unemployed and those with a family history and past history of mental illness, were all susceptible to headache and depression.


CONCLUSIONS
Disturbed sleep, free floating anxiety, sad mood, lack of pleasure, body ache and fatigue were the main presenting complaints along with headache.
Sharma
Himanshu
H
Assistant Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, P.S. Medical College and S.K. Hospital, Karamsad 388325, Anand, Gujarat.
Shah
Savan
S