TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychiatric morbidity and cognitive representations of illness in chronic daily headache
AU - Page, L A
AU - Howard, L
AU - Hussain, K
AU - Tong, J
AU - Dowson, A
AU - Weinman, J
AU - Wessely, S
PY - 2004/12
Y1 - 2004/12
N2 - Objectives: We studied patients with chronic daily headache (CDH) attending a headache clinic. Our hypothesis was that patients with anxiety or depression would have poorer functional status and differing cognitive representations of illness than would those without psychiatric morbidity. Methods: The sample consisted of 144 consecutive new patients. Patients underwent a semistructured interview and completed a prospective headache diary, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and other health-related questionnaires. Results: Sixty patients (42%) were probable cases of anxiety or depression on the basis of their HADS score. These HADS-positive cases had longer, more severe headaches, were more worried about them, were more functionally impaired and believed that their illness would last longer. Principal components analysis revealed that the HADS-positive cases believed that psychological factors play a role in their headaches. Conclusions: Psychological morbidity is high amongst CDH patients who attend specialist clinics. In addition to identifying those with high levels of psychological distress, the HADS can be used to predict those likely to have worse headaches and poorer functional ability. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
AB - Objectives: We studied patients with chronic daily headache (CDH) attending a headache clinic. Our hypothesis was that patients with anxiety or depression would have poorer functional status and differing cognitive representations of illness than would those without psychiatric morbidity. Methods: The sample consisted of 144 consecutive new patients. Patients underwent a semistructured interview and completed a prospective headache diary, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and other health-related questionnaires. Results: Sixty patients (42%) were probable cases of anxiety or depression on the basis of their HADS score. These HADS-positive cases had longer, more severe headaches, were more worried about them, were more functionally impaired and believed that their illness would last longer. Principal components analysis revealed that the HADS-positive cases believed that psychological factors play a role in their headaches. Conclusions: Psychological morbidity is high amongst CDH patients who attend specialist clinics. In addition to identifying those with high levels of psychological distress, the HADS can be used to predict those likely to have worse headaches and poorer functional ability. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2004.04.371
DO - 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2004.04.371
M3 - Article
SN - 1879-1360
VL - 57
SP - 549
EP - 555
JO - Journal of Psychosomatic Research
JF - Journal of Psychosomatic Research
IS - 6
ER -