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. 2025 Jan 16;190(1-2):e90-e98.
doi: 10.1093/milmed/usae353.

Evaluating the Phenotypic Patterns of Post-Traumatic Headache: A Systematic Review of Military Personnel

Hannah S Lyons  1   2 , Matilde Sassani  1   2 , Mark Thaller  1   2 , Andreas Yiangou  1   2 , Olivia Grech  1   2 , Susan P Mollan  1   3 , Duncan R Wilson  4 , Samuel J E Lucas  5   6 , James L Mitchell  1   2   7 , Lisa J Hill  1   8 , Alexandra J Sinclair  1   2
Affiliations

Evaluating the Phenotypic Patterns of Post-Traumatic Headache: A Systematic Review of Military Personnel

Hannah S Lyons et al. Mil Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects a significant number of military personnel, primarily because of physical impact, vehicle incidents, and blast exposure. Post-traumatic headache (PTH) is the most common symptom reported following mild TBI and can persist for several years. However, the current International Classification of Headache Disorders lacks phenotypic characterization for this specific headache disorder. It is important to appropriately classify the headache sub-phenotypes as it may enable more targeted management approaches. This systematic review seeks to identify the most common sub-phenotype of headaches in military personnel with PTH attributed to mild TBI.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines, focusing on the military population. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched. Abstracts and full texts were independently reviewed by two authors using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data extraction was performed using a standardized form. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

Results: Eight papers related to the military population were included in this review. Migraine was the most commonly reported headache sub-phenotype, with a prevalence ranging from 33 to 92%. Additionally, one military study identified tension-type headaches as the most prevalent headache phenotype. Although not the primary phenotype, one military cohort reported that approximately one-third of their cohort experienced trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias, which were associated with exposure to blast injuries and prior concussions.

Conclusion: This systematic review demonstrated that PTH in the military population frequently exhibit migraine-like features. Tension-type headache and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias also occur, although less commonly reported. Sub-phenotyping PTH may be important for initiating effective treatment since different phenotypes may respond differently to medications. The study populations analyzed in this systematic review display heterogeneity, underscoring the necessity for additional research features, more stringent criteria and comprehensive recording of baseline characteristics. Characterizing headaches following injury is crucial for an accurate diagnosis to enable effective management and rehabilitation planning for our armed forces.

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Conflict of interest statement

A.J.S. reports personal fees from Invex therapeutics in her role as Director with stock holdings, during the conduct of the study; other from Allergan, Novartis, Cheisi and Amgen outside the submitted work.

S.P.M. has received honoraria for speaker events from Heidelberg engineering; Chugai-Roche Ltd and Teva. Honoraria for advisory boards for Invex Therapeutics, Gensight and ocular therapeutix. Consultancy fees Neurodiem and Invex Therapeutics. Research funding from the UK Space Agency. All declared interested are outside the area of this submitted work.

A.Y. reports receiving speaker fees from Teva, UK outside the submitted work.

All other authors declare no competing interests.

Authors declare no other financial relationships with any organization that might have an interest in the submitted work; and no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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