Diagnostic workup of acute headache and subarachnoid hemorrhage in a Norwegian population: An observational study.

Background: Acute headache may be the primary symptom of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Recent guidelines suggest that non-contrast computed tomography (CT) is adequate to exclude aneurysmal SAH if performed within 6 h after symptom onset. However, most studies of acute headache including CT, lumbar puncture and SAH are multicenter studies from referral hospitals with highly selected patient populations.

Psychological distress, neuroticism and disability associated with secondary chronic headache in the general population - the Akershus study of chronic headache.

Background: Primary headaches are associated with psychological distress, neuroticism and disability. However, little is known about headache-related disability and psychological distress among people with secondary chronic headaches.

Methods: 30,000 persons aged 30-44 from the general population was screened for headache by a questionnaire.

Medication-overuse headache detoxification reduces headache disability - the Akershus study of chronic headache.

Background And Purpose: Medication-overuse headache (MOH) is a chronic headache (≥15 days/month) associated with overuse of acute headache medication. The objective was to investigate headache-related disability before and after self-detoxification from MOH in the general population, as well as possible predictors for successful outcome.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study.

Pericranial tenderness in chronic tension-type headache: the Akershus population-based study of chronic headache.

Background: Most knowledge on chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) is based on data from selected clinic populations, while data from the general population is sparse. Since pericranial tenderness is found to be the most prominent finding in CTTH, we wanted to explore the relationship between CTTH and pericranial muscle tenderness in a population-based sample.

Methods: An age- and gender-stratified random sample of 30,000 persons aged 30-44 years from the general population received a mailed questionnaire.

Self-reported efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine: the Akershus study of chronic headache.

Background: Chronic headache is associated with disability and high utilisation of health care including complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Findings: We investigated self-reported efficacy of CAM in people with chronic headache from the general population. Respondents with possible self-reported chronic headache were interviewed by physicians experienced in headache diagnostics.