Headache attributed to psychiatric disorder: a case series

Abstract

The association between psychiatric illness and headache is widely recognized. However, cases in which psychiatric disorders are the principal cause of headache are believed to be rare. "Headache attributed to psychiatric disorder" is a new category of secondary headache in the 2004 revision of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. The authors describe six patients in whom a psychiatric disorder is the most plausible cause of headache; most meet the new criteria or candidate criteria for headache attributed to a psychiatric disorder. The revised headache classification system appropriately recognizes headaches attributed to psychiatric disorder as a form of secondary headache.