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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

Risk factors for tension headache include:

  • Being a woman. One study found that almost 90 percent of women and about 70 percent of men experience tension headaches during their lifetimes.
  • Being middle-aged. The incidence of tension headaches appears to peak in the 40s, though people of all ages can get this type of headache.
Complications Causes
References
  1. Tension-type headache. National Headache Foundation. http://www.headaches.org/education/Headache_Topic_Sheets/Tension-Type_Headache. Accessed Nov. 24, 2010.
  2. Ropper AH, et al. Headache and other craniofacial pains. In: Ropper AH, et al. Adam's and Victor's Principles of Neurology. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies. 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3631051&searchStr=cluster+headache. Accessed Nov. 24, 2010.
  3. Crystal SC, et al. Epidemiology of tension-type headache. Current Pain and Headache Report. 2010;14:449.
  4. Headache: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/headache/detail_headache.htm. Accessed Nov. 29, 2010.
  5. Monteith TS. Tension type headache in adolescence and childhood: Where are we now? Current Pain and Headache Report. 2010;14:424.
  6. Taylor FR. Tension-type headache in adults: Pathophysiology, clinical features and diagnosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 24, 2010.
  7. Lenaerts ME. Epidemiology of tension-type headache (TTH). Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy. 2009;10:1261.
  8. Headache diary. National Headache Foundation. http://www.headaches.org/pdf/Headache_Diary.pdf. Accessed Nov. 30, 2010.
  9. Taylor FR. Tension-type headache in adults: Acute treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 24, 2010.
  10. Taylor FR. Tension-type headache in adults: Preventive treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 24, 2010.
  11. Holroyd AH, et al. Tricyclic antidepressants for migraine and tension-type headaches. British Medical Journal. 2010;341:841.
  12. Linde K, et al. Acupuncture for tension-type headache. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2009:CD007587.
DS00304 Feb. 8, 2011

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