Migrainous disorder and headache of the tension-type not fulfilling the criteria: a follow-up study in children and adolescents

Abstract

In this follow-up study in children and adolescents with recurrent headaches classified as migrainous disorder (IHS 1.7) and headache of the tension-type not fulfilling the criteria (IHS 2.3), 28.6% were headache-free and 71.4% still had headaches 2-5 years after the first examination. The majority remained in the same one-digit IHS diagnosis, whereas 20% changed from migraine to tension-type headache or vice versa. The number of IHS criteria fulfilled increased significantly from the first to the second examination. The reason for diagnosing IHS 1.7 and IHS 2.3 most often was a short headache duration or headache characteristics not meeting the criteria. By reducing the minimum headache duration to 1 h, 11 of 58 patients could be diagnosed as migraine without aura. There was a remarkable overlap in the diagnostic criteria for migraine without aura and tension-type headache. In IHS 1.7 and IHS 2.3 this overlap exceeded 80%, with a trend to decrease at the second examination.