Recurring headaches are common during the year following a traumatic brain injury (TBI), regardless of the severity of the TBI, and they tend to occur more often among females and those with a pre-TBI history of headache, according to an article in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
More than 70% of patients who had suffered a TBI reported having headaches during the first year after their injury. This finding is a result of a multi-center study described by Jeanne Hoffman, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, and a group of colleagues from University of Washington, Craig Hospital (Denver, CO), Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (Dallas), Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond), and Moss Rehab (Philadelphia, PA). The study results are reported in the article entitled, "Natural History of Headache Following Traumatic Brain Injury." ()
Females and persons with a pre-injury history of headache were significantly more likely to report headache, but there was no statistical link between incidence of post-injury headache and the severity of the TBI.
Journal Reference:
- Jeanne M Hoffman, Sylvia Lucas, Sureyya Dikmen, Cynthia A Braden, Allen W. Brown, Robert Brunner, Ramon Diaz-Arrastia, William Walker, Thomas Watanabe, Kathleen R Bell. Natural History of Headache Following Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of Neurotrauma, 2011; 110706101029009 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2011.1914