Refractive error a possible risk factor for headaches, study finds

Habitual refractive errors may be a risk factor for headaches in school-age children, according to a study.

Theo J. W. Hendricks, MD, MSc, and colleagues investigated the possible relationship between headaches and refractive error in 487 children aged 11 to 13 years. All children underwent autorefraction and completed a questionnaire on headaches, according to the study.

For right eyes, the researchers found 15% had habitual myopia less than 0.5 D, 12% had habitual hyperopia of more than 0.5 D and 33% had habitual astigmatism of more than 0.25 D.

Overall, 70% of children reported experiencing a headache in the last year. Of these, 37% reported headaches as "often or frequent," 15% reported "severe" headaches, 45% reported headaches "with long duration" and 27% reported headaches "with severe burden."

More girls reported headaches than boys. For girls, the sphere component of habitual refractive error accounted for 4% of frequency, 6% of intensity, 2% of duration and 2% of the burden, the authors said. For boys, the cylinder component explained 3% of frequency and 4% in amount of burden, according to the study.

The study is published in the February issue of Optometry and Vision Science.