Headache disability, lifestyle factors, health perception, and mental disorder symptoms: a cross-sectional analysis of the 2013 National Health Survey in Brazil.

Objective: To evaluate the past 2-week headache disability and explore its association with lifestyle factors, health perception, and mental disorder symptoms in the PNS 2013 survey.
Background: The prevalence of headache disorders has been associated with lifestyle factors, mental disorders, and health perception. However, less is known regarding their influence on headache-related disability.
Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis, chi-squared tests and logistic regression models computed the associations between headache-related disability (defined as days lost from work, school, or household chores in the past 2 weeks) and the variables of interest, compared to other disease-related disabilities groups or no day lost group. The adjusted models controlled for the effects of age, sex, income, and educational levels.
Results: In the sample aged ≥ 18 years (n = 145,580), 10,728 (7.4%) participants reported any disease-related disability in the past 2 weeks (median interquartile range (IQR) for age = 47 (33-59) years, 62% women), with the median (IQR) days lost = 5 (2-14). Headache disability represented 5.3% (572/10,728) of all diseases, constituting the 4th most prevalent disease-related disability [median (IQR) days lost = 3 (3-4)]. Among people aged 18-25 years, headache disorders ranked 2nd as the most prevalent disability (13%), headache-related disability positively associated with physical inactivity, poorer health perception, and frequent mental disorders symptoms, and negatively associated with overweight, obesity, and alcohol consumption.
Conclusion: Headache disability represents a leading cause of disease-related disability in Brazil and associates with unhealthy lifestyle factors, poorer health perception, and frequent mental disorder symptoms.
(© 2021. Fondazione Società Italiana di Neurologia.)