title: Clinical characteristics of tension-type headache in the neurological clinic of a university hospital in China.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and patterns of diagnosis and treatment of patients with tension-type headache in the neurology outpatient clinic of a university hospital in China. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the neurological clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Chongqing between March 2010 and May 2010. All consecutive patients with the chief complaint of headache were asked to complete a face-to-face interview with physicians. A questionnaire for collecting data of headache patients was completed by a qualified physician. Headache diagnosis was made by physicians according to the criteria of the second edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. A total of 399 patients were diagnosed as having tension-type headache, around two-thirds of them (66.9%) were female and the mean age was 44.8 ± 12.8 years. Approximately, half of the patients were diagnosed as suffering from chronic tension-type headache. Of all tension-type headache sufferers, 64.9% had consulted a physician for headache in the previous year, and only 22 patients (5.6%) had received a physician diagnosis of tension-type headache. A total of 41.4% of patients took analgesic for acute treatment and 13.3% were considered to have medication overuse, however, none had ever used any preventative medications. In conclusion, many tension-type headache patients did not receive a physician diagnosis of tension-type headache or effective treatment in the neurological clinic. Tension-type headache remains underrecognized in China. Better education among physicians is needed so as to improve the diagnosis and treatment of tension-type headache.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 1st You Yi Road, Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Xuelian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jiying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Yunfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ran
authors.forename: Lixue
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009462:Neurology; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018781:Tension-Type Headache / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics