Frequency of tension-type headache in patients with migraine: A single-center cross-sectional study

Background and Objective:  Migraine is a common headache disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of moderate to severe headaches which are usually unilateral. Migraine is the second most common headache disorder after tension-type headache. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of tension-type headache in patients with migraine. Methods:  This cross-sectional study was carried out at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad for a period of six months between 1st July 2018 and 31st December 2018. This study enrolled patients above the age of 12 years that were diagnosed with “Migraine without aura” or “Migraine with aura”. The patients were subsequently asked for presence of features of tension-type headache. The criteria published by International Headache Society, ICHD-3 was used for making the diagnosis of migraine and tension-type headache. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 17. In the case of numerical variables, the mean and standard deviation were calculated. In the case of categorical variables, the frequency and percentage were calculated. All data were presented in tables and figures. Results:  One-hundred-forty-two patients participated in the study. The age range was between 14 and 72 years. The mean age was 30.12 years. Female patients were 76.1 percent. Eighty patients were married, and 15.5 percent patients did not receive education; 72.5 percent patients were from urban background. Seventy-five (52.8%) patients had migraine with aura while 67 (47.2%) patients had migraine without aura. Twenty-nine (20.4%) patients of migraine had coexistent tension-type headache while 113 (79.6%) patients of migraine did not have tension-type headache. Conclusion: Tension type headache was an infrequent finding in our study population of migraine patients.