According to one study, people with “cluster headaches” may be up to three times more likely to develop heart disease or mental disorders.
These excruciating headaches last between 15 minutes and three hours and usually strike several days of the week.
They affect around one in 1,000 people and can be a sign of dilation or swelling of blood vessels. People with the disease are more susceptible to mental and neurological disorders as well as heart disease.
Evidence suggests that cluster headaches are associated with abnormalities in the region of the brain responsible for producing serotonin, the “happiness hormone”, melatonin, the “sleep hormone”, and cortisol, the “happiness hormone”. stress”.
Of more than 3,200 Swedes with cluster headaches, 92% were more vulnerable to nervous and musculoskeletal disorders characterized by persistent pain and mobility problems.
The study was conducted by Swedish scientists who recruited 3,240 cluster headache sufferers, aged 16 to 64.
They compared this group to 16,200 people who were similar in age, sex and other factors. The majority of subjects were men, who are more prone to cluster headaches.
Of those people with cluster headaches, 92% had additional disease. A majority – 52% – had co-occurring conditions involving the nervous system, compared to 15% of people without cluster headaches.
The conditions with the second-highest share of patients with cluster headaches involved the musculoskeletal system causing pain and long-lasting mobility problems, compared with 24% among those without headaches.
Diseases affecting the blood, immune system, endocrine system and metabolism, as well as pregnancy-related conditions were very rare in both groups.
Dr Caroline Ran, author of the study from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden saidOur results show that people with cluster headaches not only have an increased risk of other illnesses, those with at least one additional illness missed four times as many days of work due to illness and disability. than those with only cluster headaches.
The results were published in the journal Neurology.
Less than 80 percent of people who do not have cluster headaches have had at least two additional medical conditions primarily affecting the nervous and musculoskeletal systems, causing persistent pain and limited mobility.
The headaches were severe enough to cause twice the absenteeism from work.
Those with cluster headaches missed an average of 63 working days compared to those without cluster headaches with 34 days.
“It is very important to improve our understanding of other conditions that affect people with cluster headaches and how they impact their ability to work,” Dr Ran added.
“This information can help us make decisions about treatments, prevention and prognoses.”
A notable caveat, however, was the lack of personal information about individuals, such as smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and body mass index.
The exact cause of cluster headaches is unknown, but scientists have identified smoking and alcohol consumption as potential sources.
A family history of cluster headaches can also make it worse.
Episodes usually last between five and 15 minutes, but if left untreated can last up to 180 minutes. Attack episodes are much longer.
An attack cycle typically lasts six to 12 weeks with remissions lasting up to a year. Many people experience one to two attack periods per year.
The most effective treatments for acute attacks include oxygen therapy and sumatriptan injections.
The blood pressure drug, verapamil, is useful for long-term prevention. An injectable drug has also been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Cluster headaches are different from migraines, which cause disabling headaches, nausea, blackouts, vomiting, and even paralysis.
Migraine sufferers experience an average of 13 attacks each year, usually in clusters or episodes lasting a few days.
They are the sixth most common cause of disability worldwide.
Like cluster headaches, migraines are strongly linked to depression and absenteeism from work.
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