Friday, August 21, 2009

Getting to grips with childhood headaches

Up to 30% of all children around the world complain of having a headache at least once a week. German researchers have been looking into the factors linked to headaches, studying children between 2003 and 2006. They found that boys who experienced more than one family quarrel a week had a 1.8x greater risk of developing headaches. Lack of free time also played a part with boys who only sometimes had time to themselves having a 2.1x greater risk of developing headaches. Reinforcement from parents - giving the child the idea that rewards could be linked to headaches - was important, leading to a 25% increase in the risk of recurrent headaches in girls. Twice as many girls as boys had headaches.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817142737.htm

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