Headache in hypothyroidism. Prevalence and outcome under thyroid hormone therapy

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of headache ill patients with hypothyr oidism. Design: A prospective study of a cohort of patients with hypothyroi dism. Setting: Outpatients or inpatients in a headache clinic and endocrino logical clinic. Patients: 102 adults, ages 35 to 78 (83F, 19M) experiencing clinical and biological hypothyroidism. Results: Thirty-one patients with hypothyroidism of 102 (30%) presented with headache 1 to 2 months after the first symptoms of hypothyroidism. The headache was slight, nonpulsatile, c ontinuous, bilateral, and salicylate responsive and disappeared with thyroi d hormone therapy. Conclusion: The authors believe there is a prevalence of nonspecific headache in hypothyroidism and that it has a particular respon se to thyroid hormone therapy. Hypothyroidism is another cephalalgia with a n endocrinological cause after menstrual cephalalgia. We suspect a metaboli c or vascular pathophysiological process.