TY - JOUR
T1 - Is allodynia influenced by psychological profile in headache patients?
AU - Lovati, Carlo
AU - D'Amico, D.
AU - Bertora, P.
AU - Morandi, E.
AU - Mariani, C.
AU - Bussone, G.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Cutaneous allodynia is a frequent complain in headache patients, particularly in those with migraine. A stronger association is present in patients with migraine with aura and with chronic or transformed migraine. The aim of the present study was to investigate if the psychological profile may be related to the presence/absence of allodynia in a sample of headache patients. The psychological profile of patients was assessed by the SCL90R; the presence of allodynia was assessed by a set of semi-structured questions used in previous studies. For the purpose of the study, patients were divided into subgroups according to the headache type (ICDH-II diagnoses), as well as to the temporal pattern (episodic or chronic). A total of 213 consecutive headache patients were studied. Most patients had episodic migraine (116); 37 had tension-type headache. Overall, 156 patients had episodic headache forms, and 57 had chronic forms. As far as allodynia, 93 were non-allodynic; 120 presented allodynic symptoms during their headaches. No significant difference was found between allodynic and non-allodynic patients neither if studied in a whole group (t test, P = 0.10 NS) nor when patients were evaluated comparing different subgroups on the basis of headache type, and of the episodic/chronic pattern. Our results suggest that the presence/absence of allodynia may not be influenced by the psychological profile.
AB - Cutaneous allodynia is a frequent complain in headache patients, particularly in those with migraine. A stronger association is present in patients with migraine with aura and with chronic or transformed migraine. The aim of the present study was to investigate if the psychological profile may be related to the presence/absence of allodynia in a sample of headache patients. The psychological profile of patients was assessed by the SCL90R; the presence of allodynia was assessed by a set of semi-structured questions used in previous studies. For the purpose of the study, patients were divided into subgroups according to the headache type (ICDH-II diagnoses), as well as to the temporal pattern (episodic or chronic). A total of 213 consecutive headache patients were studied. Most patients had episodic migraine (116); 37 had tension-type headache. Overall, 156 patients had episodic headache forms, and 57 had chronic forms. As far as allodynia, 93 were non-allodynic; 120 presented allodynic symptoms during their headaches. No significant difference was found between allodynic and non-allodynic patients neither if studied in a whole group (t test, P = 0.10 NS) nor when patients were evaluated comparing different subgroups on the basis of headache type, and of the episodic/chronic pattern. Our results suggest that the presence/absence of allodynia may not be influenced by the psychological profile.
KW - Allodynia
KW - Migraine
KW - Psychological profile
KW - SCL90
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=65549130513&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=65549130513&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10072-009-0063-5
DO - 10.1007/s10072-009-0063-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 19415439
AN - SCOPUS:65549130513
VL - 30
JO - Neurological Sciences
JF - Neurological Sciences
SN - 1590-1874
IS - SUPPL. 1
ER -