A comprehensive study of headache and psychiatric comorbidities at government medical college Handwara, Kashmir

Background: Handwara, located in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, is a region profoundly impacted by prolonged conflict and socio-political instability, leading to widespread mental health challenges among its population. The newly established government medical college (GMC) in Handwara is crucial in addressing these issues, particularly through its department of psychiatry. This paper examines the pattern of psychiatric disorders in patients with headaches in a peripheral tertiary care hospital. Methods: It was a cross-sectional structured clinical interview assessing all patients attending the psychiatry OPD with headache as the chief complaint. A total of 650 consecutive consenting patients aged more than 18 years with headaches were enrolled in the study. The diagnostic tools used were a structured questionnaire, ICHD-3, and M.I.N.I. plus. Statistical analysis was descriptive statistics and regression analysis were done to find the relation between different variables. Results: The majority of the patients were females presented with vascular headaches in the age group of >18-55 years. The most common psychiatric morbidities found were depressive disorders and panic disorder. A statistically significant correlation was found between headaches and psychiatric disorders. Conclusions: The high prevalence of mental health disorders such as depressive disorders, nicotine use disorders, somatic symptom disorders, and panic disorders indicate the need for enhanced evaluation of patients with headaches to improve outcomes. Longstanding untreated mental disorders can be a reason for chronic non-relieving and disabling headaches.