Headache and Its Effects on Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adults

AIM: This study was conducted with aim of determining prevalence of headache and evaluating its effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Beylikova town of Eskisehir city in the west of Turkey. MATERIAL and METHODS: This study was conducted on adults aged 20 years and over aged between May11 and June04 2009 in Beylikova town of Eskisehir city in the west of Turkey. A total of 587 people were selected by simple randomized method. The International Headache Society criteria were used for the determination of severity of headache. The 36-item short-form (SF-36) was used for the assessment of health-related quality of life. RESULTS: The number of men and women was 302 (51.4%), and 285 (48.6%), respectively. The mean age was 46.70 +/- 15.26 years (range, 20-87 years). Headache prevalence was found to be 78.2% (n=459). Decreased headache prevalence was found in the ages older than 30-44 age group (p <0.05). All domains of SF-36, the mean scores were higher in individuals without headache than those with headache (for each, p<0.05). Migraine prevalence was found to be 7.2% (n=33). CONCLUSION: In accordance with the literature, this study found the presence of headache in adults at high frequency (78.2%). Particularly the presence of migraine and increased severity of headache were found to decrease the quality of life.