People suffering from gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as nausea, acid reflux, diarrhoea, and constipation often complain of headache compared to those who don't have these symptoms. Both headaches and GI symptoms are common in the general population, but very little scientific research has been done on co-existence of headache and GI complaints. To investigate the association between headache and GI complaints, researchers in Norway studied 43,732 patients participating in the Head-HUNT Study. The patients were asked to complete questionnaires, providing information on their overall health including GI symptoms as well as headache. After adjusting for gender, age, depression, anxiety and other factors that might influence the results, a significantly higher prevalence of headache was noted among participants with reflux, diarrhoea, constipation, and nausea, compared to those without such complaints. The results suggest that patients suffering from headache are predisposed to GI complaints. Thus, it is important to avoid headache-relieving medications that have adverse gastrointestinal side effects in patients with existing gastrointestinal discomfort.
Cephalalgia,
February2008