Link Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Frequent Headache In Adults

Children who experience maltreatment such as emotional, physical and sexual abuse are more likely to experience frequent headaches, including chronic migraine, as adults, say scientists presenting data at the American Headache Society's 52nd Annual Scientific Meeting in Los Angeles this week.

Using data from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study of 17,337 adult members of the Kaiser Health Plan in San Diego, Gretchen E. Tietjen, MD, of the University of Toledo College Of Medicine, and her team found that the number of ACEs showed a graded relationship to the likelihood of experiencing frequent headaches. Her study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We looked at eight ACEs -- emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, witnessing domestic violence, growing up with mental illness in the home, having household members who were incarcerated or were abusing drugs, and experiencing parental separation or divorce,." said Dr. Tietjen. "Each ACE increased the chance of frequent headache, and as the number of ACEs increased, so did the risk of frequent headache. This 'dose-response' relationship' suggests that ACEs may contribute to the development and frequency of severe headaches later in life."

White House Unveils Consumer Protections In Health Law

New health-law-prompted regulations were released Tuesday, Kaiser Health News reports. The regulations could likely affect a small fraction of the country, but address key insurance concerns:

- Insurers would no longer be able to deny coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions.
- Certain annual and all lifetime limits on benefits would be prohibited.
- Insurers would no longer be allowed to drop coverage when policy holders get sick.

Obama told a White House audience of 160 people that "Insurance companies should see this as an opportunity to improve care and increase competition," MSNBC reports. "The new regulations being implemented by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, will put in place the strongest consumer protections in the nation's history -- giving Americans 'peace of mind,' Obama said" (Jones, 6/22).