Headaches affect most children and rank third among illness-related causes of school absenteeism. Although the short-term outcome for most children appears favorable, few studies have reported long-term outcome.
To evaluate the long-term prognosis of childhood headaches 20 years after initial diagnosis in a cohort of Atlantic Canadian children who had headaches diagnosed in 1983.
Ninety-five patients with headaches who consulted 1 of the authors in 1983 were previously studied in 1993. The 77 patients contacted in 1993 were followed up in 2003. A standardized interview protocol was used.
Sixty (78%) of 77 patients responded (60 of the 95 of the original cohort). At 20-year follow-up, 16 (27%) were headache free, 20 (33%) had tension-type headaches, 10 (17%) had migraine, and 14 (23%) had migraine and tension-type headaches. Having more than 1 headache type was more prevalent than at diagnosis or initial follow-up (P