How are Frequent Headaches in Teenagers Linked to Suicidal Thoughts?

Teenagers who have experienced bullying from their peers or have attempted suicide were found to be prone to experiencing frequent headaches compared to those who have not encountered such challenges (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
BULLYING, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS LINKED TO MORE FREQUENT HEADACHES IN TEENS

Go to source). The study, published in the online issue of the medical journal Neurology, does not prove that bullying or thoughts of suicide cause headaches, but shows an association.“Headaches are a common problem for teenagers, but our study looked beyond the biological factors to also consider the psychological and social factors that are associated with headaches,” said Serena L. Orr, from the University of Calgary in Canada.

"The study involved more than 2.2 million teenagers with an average age of 14 years. Of the total participants, 0.5 percent self-reported being gender diverse, meaning being transgender or self-reporting as being gender diverse including being gender nonbinary."

Prevalence of Frequent Headaches and Bullying Experiences

Of the participants, 11 percent reported having frequent, recurring headaches, defined as headaches occurring more than once a week.A total of 25 percent of the participants reported being victims of frequent overt bullying, including physical and verbal aggression, being called names or insulted, and being threatened virtually; and 17 percent reported being victims of frequent relational bullying, including having rumors spread about them, being excluded, and having harmful information posted about them on the internet.

Also, 17 percent of participants reported considering or attempting suicide in their lifetime.Researchers found that those who had frequent headaches were nearly three times more likely to experience bullying than their peers.Teenagers who had been bullied or had suicidal tendencies were nearly twice as likely to have frequent headaches as their peers, while those with mood and anxiety disorders were 50 percent and 74 percent more likely, respectively, to have frequent headaches than their peers.Researchers also found that 34 percent of teenagers with frequent headaches reported being victims of relational bullying at least once a month compared to 14 percent of teenagers who had headaches less than once a week.

“These results should compel future research into interventions for bullying and a better understanding of how gender diverse youth are at a higher risk of headache disorders,” Orr said.“These findings should urge policymakers to increase efforts towards bullying prevention and should encourage doctors to screen children and teenagers with headache disorders for bullying and suicidal tendencies. A limitation of the study was that participants self-reported their headaches and other information and they may not have remembered all the information accurately."

Reference:

1. BULLYING, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS LINKED TO MORE FREQUENT HEADACHES IN TEENS - (https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-08-03/bullying-could-help-bring-on-headaches-for-teens)

Source-IANS