Burden of tension-type headache

Epidemiology of headache has been the subject of increased attention recently. It appears that the overall human and financial cost of headache is considerable. Moreover, when the comorbidity and indirect implications of headache are taken into account, the result can be staggering. Most of the literature has concentrated on migraine rather than other headache types such as tension-type headache. This article gathers emerging data that give an estimate of some of the aspects of the burden imparted by tension-type headache on society. It also briefly considers some of the factors that could positively influence this challenge of modern medicine.