Headache in the elderly: an evaluation of risk factors

SYNOPSIS Information on the prevalence of headache in an ambulatory elderly population was collected from 1,284 participants in a health screening program in Dunedin, Florida. Association between headache and possible risk factors including age, sex, reported symptoms and diseases, drug use, physical characteristics, and sleep patterns were studied. Eleven percent of women and 5 percent of men reported frequent headaches. There was no relationship between age and reported headache in this elderly population. The most commonly reported positions for headache were frontal (35.2 percent) and all over (29.7 percent). In women there was a significant correlation between headache and the total number of other diseases and symptoms reported (p