Seasonal Variation of Hospital Admissions for Intractable Headaches

According to the 1989 National Health Interview Survey, headache ranked third as a cause of school absence, resulting in 82,000 days of school missed per week. A survey of 9,000 school children found that half of all children who were at least fifteen years old suffered from a headache. Little is known regarding seasonal variation of severe pediatric headaches in relation to the school year.  We hypothesize that there is a chronologic relationship between hospital admissions for headache and the academic calendar.  To address this hypothesis, we have undertaken a 10-year retrospective chart review of pediatric patients from 7 to 17 years of age admitted to a large pediatric hospital.  Patients included in the study will have been admitted to Primary Children’s Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah between January 2002 and December 2011 with the diagnosis of intractable headache.  Those with acute trauma, central nervous system or other documented infections, or increased intracranial pressure will be excluded.  The data will be entered into the RedCap data system for statistical analysis.   A p value < 0.5 will be considered statistically significant.  We speculate that there is a peak in hospital admissions correlating with the onset of the school year and following winter break, with the least number of admissions occurring during the summer months.  Given the impact on school absence, the potential for physical deconditioning, and the risk for social isolation, identifying a specific window of time in which to initiate preventive strategies would have significant public health implications.