IHS CRITERIA AND GENDER - A STUDY ON MIGRAINE AND TENSION-TYPE HEADACHE IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the MS criteria for m igraine and tension-type headache depend on gender. Among 409 children and adolescents with recurrent idiopathic headache seen at a universi ty outpatient clinic, girls had significantly more often migraine with aura. Also, there was a trend towards a higher frequency of tension-t ype headache in girls. In migraine, aggravation of headache by physica l activity and occurrence of aura symptoms were more common in females , whereas vomiting and phonophobia occurred more often in males. In te nsion-type headache, females more often reported mild intensity of hea dache. All other criteria were similar in both sexes. Age influenced t he expression of some of the accompanying symptoms in the various type s of migraine, but had only minimal influence on other diagnostic crit eria of migraine and tension-type headache in females as well as in ma les. Our study suggests that the frequency of migraine (except that of migraine with aura) is similar among girls and boys, that tension-typ e headache may occur more often in girls, and that gender has some inf luence on the IHS criteria for migraine, but almost no influence on th ose of tension-type headache.