Approximately 1 in 5 patients who presented with headache during the acute phase of COVID-19 developed chronic daily headache, according to a study published in the journal Cephalalgia. The greater the headache's intensity during the acute phase, the greater the likelihood that it would persist.
About 19% of COVID-19 Headaches Become Chronic
The research, evaluated the evolution of headache in more than 900 Spanish patients. Headache intensity during the acute phase was associated with a more prolonged duration of headache. Therefore, promptly evaluating patients who have had COVID-19 and who then experience persistent headache is important.
Long-term Evolution Unknown
Headache is a common symptom of COVID-19, but its long-term evolution remains unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term duration of headache in patients who presented with this symptom during the acute phase of the disease. In the 96.6% cases, the median duration of headache was 14 days. The headache persisted at 1 month in 31.1% of patients, at 2 months in 21.5%, at 3 months in 19%, at 6 months in 16.8%, and at 9 months in 16.0%.
Study participants whose headache persisted at 9 months were older and were mostly women. They were less likely to have had pneumonia or to have experienced stabbing pain, light or noise sensitivity. They reported that the headache got worse when they engaged in physical activity but less frequently manifested as a throbbing headache.
Having a prior history of headache is one of the factors that can increase the likelihood that a headache experienced while suffering from COVID-19 will become chronic.
This study also found that, more often than not, patients with persistent headache at 9 months had migraine-like pain.
Infections are a common cause of acute and chronic headache. The persistence of a headache after an infection may be due to the infection becoming chronic. Some people have a biological predisposition to headache as a multifactorial and polygenic disorder, such that a particular stimulus — e.g. trauma, infection or alcohol consumption — can cause them to develop a headache very similar to a migraine.
Reference
Medscap[e: Javier Cotelo, MD April 06, 2022
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/971680uac=209096MV&faf=1&sso=true&impID=4148611&src=mkm_ret_220409_mscpmrk_covid-ous_int#vp_1
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