Morning headaches are “a good indicator of major depressive disorders and insomnia disorders,” according to an article in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a publication of the American Medical Association.
The findings were based on a telephone questionnaire used to survey approximately 19,000 people age 15 years and older in several European countries. Overall, 1,442, or about 7.6 percent of those surveyed, reported having chronic morning headaches — 1.3 percent daily, 4.4 percent often, and 1.9 percent sometimes. Rates were higher in women (8.4 percent) than in men (6.7 percent), and in people age 45 to 64 (about 9 percent).
The most significant factors associated with chronic morning headaches were anxiety and depressive disorders. The Medical Society of the State of New York is dedicated to ensuring that patients with these and other mental disorders receive proper evaluation and treatment and that health insurers cover this care on a parity with that for physical illness.
Other factors found to be associated with chronic morning headaches included sleep-related breathing disorders, hypertension, musculoskeletal diseases and heavy drinking of alcohol.
This information is provided by the Medical Society of the State of New York. For more health-related information and referrals to physicians in your community, contact the New York City Department of Health by calling 311.
