Lisette Morris

Headache in German children and adolescents: a population-based epidemiological study

The aim of the present study was to assess the distribution and characteristics of headache in children aged 7-14 years in Lower Saxony (Germany). For the survey, 8800 households with children were randomly drawn from community registers. Parents received comprehensive questionnaires regarding various aspects of their childs headache history and general health by mail. The response rate was 63.5%. The 6-month prevalence of paediatric headache was 53.2% and increased with age (39% at 7 years to 63% at age 14). Overall, recurrent headache (≥/week) was experienced by 6.5% of the total sample and was significantly more common among older girls (≥11 years) than their male counterparts. Boys and girls did not differ markedly from one another regarding headache occurrence and frequency until the age of 11. Mean age of headache onset was 7.5 years, with onset occurring at a significantly younger age among boys than among girls. In accordance with International Classification of Headache Disorders-II criteria, migraine was diagnosed in 7.5% and tension-type headache in 18.5% of the cases, hence a large proportion of the children had unclassifiable headache. Of the headache disorders, migraine was rated the most disabling, with the highest average intensity, highest frequency, duration of headache often exceeding 2 h and more frequent use of medication. In general, aura symptoms were rare except for visual disturbances (17%). Paediatric headache was strongly associated with other health problems, including other pain symptoms. Paediatric headache was also associated with a history of parental headache.

Biopsychosocial correlates of headache: what predicts pediatric headache occurrence?

Objective.— The study aims at identifying biopsychosocial risk factors for headache in children and adolescents aged 9 to 14.

One-year course of paediatric headache in children and adolescents aged 8-15 years.

The aims of the present study were the assessment of headache (HA) prevalence in German children and adolescents in the second year of a 4-year longitudinal study and the analysis of headache status change from year 1 to year 2. The original sample consisted of 8800 households with a child aged 7-14 years. A total of 4159 households responded in both year 1 and year 2, yielding 3984 valid parent questionnaires. Data regarding various aspects of the childs HA history and general health were gathered via mailed questionnaires from the parents. Of the households returning valid parent questionnaires at survey 2, 48.9± reported their child to have experienced headaches during the previous 6 months (53± at survey 1). Weekly HA was reported for 6.5± of the children, monthly or less frequent HA for 16.5± and 25.9±, respectively. With regard to headache diagnosis, 55.0± of the children and adolescents with HA experienced tension-type HA (TTH) and 11.3± migraine with or without aura (M). For more than half of the children and adolescents with HA (57.0±) the frequency of head pain remained stable over the period of 1 year (i.e. same frequency category in years 1 and 2). Improved and worsened HA status regarding frequency of occurrence was found in 22.3± and 20.7± of the subjects, respectively. Thus, there was no definite trend towards an increase of HA episodes over the course of 1 year regarding the individual child or adolescent. The most stable type of HA was TTH.

Reduktion von Risikofaktoren für gestörtes Essverhalten

Zusammenfassung. Eine erhohte Bedeutsamkeit von Figur und Gewicht sowie Diatverhalten gehoren zu den am besten bestatigten und bedeutungsvollsten Risikofaktoren, die bei jungen Frauen zu einem erhohten Risiko fur spatere Essstorungssymptome oder -syndrome fuhren. Praventive Interventionen sollten daher versuchen, diese Faktoren zu reduzieren, um die Wahrscheinlichkeit der Entwicklung einer Essstorung zu verringern. Die vorliegende Untersuchung beschreibt die Uberprufung der Wirksamkeit eines fur den deutschen Sprachraum adaptierten Internet-gestutzten Praventionsprogramms (“Student Bodies“) zur Reduktion von Risikofaktoren fur gestortes Essverhalten bzw. Essstorungen. 100 Studentinnen von zwei Universitaten wurden per Zufall entweder einer Interventionsgruppe oder einer Wartekontrollgruppe zugewiesen. Die Dauer der Intervention betrug 8 Wochen. Zum Post-Zeitpunkt konnte die Wirksamkeit des adaptierten Programms im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe gut bestatigt werden. Die Effekte waren deutlich hoher fur eine...

Selbstöffnung beim Schreiben über belastende Lebensereignisse

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Ausgangspunkt der beiden vorgestellten Studien ist die Forschung zu der Bedeutung von Selbstoffnung beim gefuhlsbetonten Schreiben uber belastende Ereignisse, die von Pennebaker und Mitarbeitern initiiert wurde. Nach Pennebaker belegen die Studien den langfristigen gesundheitsfordernden Effekt dieser kurzen und unaufwendigen Intervention. Methode: Die erste Studie versuchte im wesentlichen eine Replikation der Studie von Pennebaker und Beall (1986) mit der Erwartung, die von den Autoren beschriebenen Effekte bestatigen zu konnen. Neben den in der Originalstudie verwandten Erhebungsinstrumenten wurden verschiedene Essayvariablen extrahiert und eine Reihe von Personlichkeitsmerkmalen erhoben, fur die eine Moderatorfunktion bezuglich der Ergebnisvariablen angenommen wurde. Die zweite Studie variierte die Bedingung der Selbstoffnung, indem zusatzlich zur Ursprungsbedingung eine sogenannte “Coping“- bzw. “Helping“-Instruktion gegeben wurde, die uber Aktivierung von R...