Teen Headache Patients Doubled In 10 Years, Why…
Feb 06, 2025
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However, caution is needed as the number of patients is increasing rapidly to dismiss it as a simple fake disease.
The number of children and adolescents with headaches has doubled in the last 10 years.
The number of headache patients aged 15 to 19 increased from 43,634 in 2014 to 102,506 in 2023, increasing 2.4 times in the last decade, and the number of patients aged 10 to 14 also increased 1.8 times from 27,271 in 2014 to 65,350 in 2023.
Headaches in childhood and adolescence start with mild complaints of symptoms and can interfere with school or daily life if it gets worse, and are often caused by other secondary diseases. Therefore, it is often thought that it is not a big deal, but it is unexpectedly diagnosed as a serious disease, which often baffles parents.
Headaches in childhood and adolescence tend to increase as they approach adolescence, and stress, irregular sleep, excessive study and games, caffeine intake, and eye fatigue worsen headaches, said Byun Sung-hwan, director of Pediatrics and Adolescents at Bundang Jesaeng Hospital.
Headaches in childhood and adolescence are more common in boys at a young age, and as they enter adolescence, the number of girls increases, and often develop into migraines in adulthood. As headaches continue to cause discomfort in daily life, psychological atrophy or other mood disorders are sometimes accompanied.
Headaches in childhood and adolescence are divided into cases with primary headaches such as migraines, tension headaches, and secondary causes such as sinusitis and brain tumors, depending on the cause. Since each disease has differences in the progress and symptoms of headaches, it is often possible to diagnose without additional tests only by detailed examination and listening to a medical history, but if there is no difference in medical history or examination, additional blood tests and imaging tests may be necessary to discriminate secondary headaches."
The most common primary headache in childhood and adolescence is migraine, which often persists in later adulthood. In this case, the dependence on simple painkillers increases, and in some cases, it leads to drug misuse, so care is required when treating. Therefore, rather than simple medication, good effects can be obtained by improving lifestyle habits such as removing stress factors and improving sleep habits and diet.
Manager Byun Sung-hwan explained, "Life habits are very important to prevent adolescent headaches, and regular sleep, balanced diet, sufficient water intake, aerobic exercise for more than 30 minutes three to four times a week, and stress management are required." He added that `Headaches can affect the daily lives of children and adolescents and lead to bad habits such as drug abuse in later adulthood, so careful treatment and counseling are required. If headaches continue more than twice a week, it is better to be accurately diagnosed by a specialist and receive proper treatment rather than taking commercial painkillers.'
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
