title: Patients with chronic headache tend to have more psychological symptoms than those with sporadic episodes of pain.
abstract: There are controversial associations between headaches and psychological symptoms.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To design a profile of neuroticism, a term that groups variables related to negative personality traits, in patients with chronic daily headache (CDH) when compared to episodic migraine (EM) patients, applying the Factorial Scale of Emotional Adjustment/Neuroticism (NFS).
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred adult patients with CDH and forty with EM answered the NFS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comorbidities of subtypes of neuroticism (p=0.006) were more common in chronic daily headache patients, with three or more disorders (p=0.0002): dependent personality disorder (p=0.0001), anxiety, reduced concentration and production (p=0.0008), depression (p<0.0001), suicidal ideation (p=0.0008) and hopelessness even without depression (p<0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with CDH tend to have dependent personality disorder, low production and concentration, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and hopelessness, superimposing two or more psychological disorders. These factors should be pondered for a better resolution in the treatment of CDH.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Neurológicas, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Sao Jose do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Aparecida Junqueira
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zampieri
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Neurologia, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Sao Jose do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Waldir Antonio
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Tognola
authors.affiliation: Neurologia Clínica, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Sao Jose do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Carlos Busto
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Galego
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D020773:Headache Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult