Dados do Trabalho

Título

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TENSION-TYPE HEADACHE (TTH) AND ANXIETY DISORDER: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Resumo

Introduction: A headache is a pain with cephalic involvement, the most common neurological symptom and a very frequent medical complaint. Anxiety worsens the perception of pain, intensifies it, increases its duration, and, by an escalation mechanism, further increases the level of previous anxiety. In several clinical and epidemiological studies, a comorbidity especially focused on among patients with TTH is anxiety. Objective: To present relevant information about the relationship of anxiety symptoms among TTH sufferers. Material and Methods: This is a literature review that allows a broad approach to tension-type headache and its relationship with anxiety, providing knowledge and incorporation of the applicability definition of concepts, results and studies. The collection began in May 2022, so that a survey of data and studies relevant to the research in question was carried out. The textual search was restricted to scientific publications from the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO) and PUBMED databases during the month of May of this year, using publications from the last 10 years, through the following descriptors: "tension-type headache" and "anxiety". Original articles indexed in the period between 2012 to 2022 were included. Results: Seven articles were found in the initial search, and after analyzing the abstracts, 4 papers remained for this review. Among the primary headaches, tension-type headache stands out, characterized by light or moderate compressive pain sensations and its relation with anxiety disorder. It is subclassified according to its duration into infrequent episodic, constant, and chronic. Its pathophysiology is complex and involves peripheral and central pain mechanisms, and it must be differentiated from other types of headache. And through the analyzed studies we concluded that the patient diagnosed with anxiety has a higher frequency of occurrence of headaches when compared to those without mental disorders. The characteristics of headache, frequency, intensity, duration of crises were more aggravated in patients with anxiety. This disorder is preventable, with changes in habits in order to reduce or eliminate triggering factors. Conclusion: Tension headache and anxiety, although recurrent, is underdiagnosed, usually due to lack of knowledge by general practitioners, a fact that may result in the adoption of inappropriate treatment plans and cause impairment in the quality of life of patients.

Palavras Chave

Tension headache; Anxiety.