Abstract:

Objective: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the physical and psychological well-being of individuals have not yet been clearly understood. Especially during the early period of the pandemic, the most prevalent psychological effects included fear, preoccupation with health, anxiety, and feeling of loneliness caused by a general sense of uncertainty. The incidence of headache was as high as 70% among the mild COVID-19 cases. Findings from the past coronavirus outbreaks indicated that neuropsychiatric symptoms might cause a significant health burden and adversely affect the patients’ quality of life. The present study aimed to investigate the anxiety-related clinical conditions of the patients diagnosed with primary headache, who presented to the neurology polyclinic during the prolonged pandemic period. Methods: The research was designed as a two-center, prospective case-control study. Patients diagnosed with primary headache, who presented to the neurology outpatient clinic, and healthy volunteers without a primary headache diagnosis were included in the study. Data collection tools included the sociodemographic data form, Headache Impact Test, Coronavirus Anxiety Scale Short Form, and COVID-19 Disease Perception Scale. Results: Data collected from a total of 869 participants, including 408 (47%) patients diagnosed with headache and 461 (53%) healthy volunteers, were investigated. The results of the Headache Impact Test-6 suggested a severe effect on quality of life in 187 participants (45.8%) in the headache group and 73 participants (15.8%) in the Control Group (p=0.001). There was coronavirus anxiety in 59 (14.5%) participants with headache and 8 (1.7%) participants in the Control Group (p=0.001). Furthermore, the rate of coronavirus anxiety in participants that had and did not have COVID-19 was 44 (13.7%) and 22 (4.1%), respectively (p=0.001). Conclusion: The study results revealed that patients with headache and COVID-19 presented with a higher rate of coronavirus anxiety than healthy controls and those not diagnosed with COVID-19. Further studies on larger samples are necessary for investigating the long term neuropsychiatric effects of COVID-19 in individuals.

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