Headache in the Elderly Publisher



Vahabi Z¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Headache and Migraine in Practice Published:2022

Abstract

Headache is a common complaint among persons over the age of 65 years. About 50% of this population will experience different types of headaches. The proportion of primary headaches decreases markedly from 90% in young individuals to 66% in the older adults. Tension-type headache is the most common primary headache type in older adults, followed by migraine. Careful diagnostic assessment should be conducted to investigate obstructive sleep apnea, cerebrovascular disease, temporal arteritis, brain tumor, cardiac cephalgia, trigeminal and postherpetic neuralgia, and subacute glaucoma. Proper treatment of headache in older adults requires the recognition of secondary causes, comorbid diseases, and drug-induced or medication overuse headaches. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.