ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Post-traumatic headaches: an epidemiological overview F. D’Onofrio • A. Russo • F. Conte • G. Casucci • A. Tessitore • G. Tedeschi Ó Springer-Verlag Italia 2014 Abstract Post-traumatic headache (PTH) is the most common secondary headache disorder, corresponding to approximately 4 % of all symptomatic headaches. PTH, a cardinal feature of the post-concussive syndrome, usually shows a phenotype similar to migraine or tension-type headache. However, rare cases of PTH similar to trigemi- nal autonomic cephalalgias have been described. Many studies have investigated PTH prevalence and potential risk factors for its development and maintenance. In gen- eral population, the majority of PTH patients is female and has been involved in vehicle-related accidents. Generally, headache gradually disappears over few weeks or months; however, PTH could become persistent and very disabling in a minority of patients. This brief review will focus on PTH epidemiological aspects. Keywords Post-traumatic headache Á PTH Á Epidemiological aspects Á Epidemiology Á Trauma Introduction Headache attributed to head and/or neck trauma or injury [1], the so-called post-traumatic headache (PTH), is the most common secondary headache disorder, corresponding to approximately 4 % of all symptomatic headaches [1, 2]. PTH is currently defined by International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3 beta version) [1], as a new headache starting within 7 days after head injury, whip- lash, craniotomy or regaining of consciousness following trauma. Nevertheless, some patients may also experience a worsening of their pre-existing primary headache [3]. Epidemiological aspects Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the major cause of mor- bidity and disability throughout the world. Approximately 80 % of non-fatal TBI are classified as mild, and the most common sequelae of mild TBI is a disabling PTH [2, 3]. In other terms, a very large number of subjects are at risk to have PTH, which should be considered an important public health issue. Mild TBI is very frequent in general population, and it is usually correlated to motor vehicle accidents (45 %), falls (30 %), occupational accidents (10 %), recreational acci- dents (10 %), and assaults (5 %) [4, 5]. Although 50 % of subjects experiencing mild TBI are aged 15–34 years, PTH does not demonstrate a predilection for any specific age group [6, 7]. PTH intensity does not show a significant relationship with TBI severity, cause of injury or trauma dynamics, meaning that even a relatively mild TBI can be associated with debilitating headache symptoms [5]. These data are in line with a recent review [3] reporting that the prevalence F. D’Onofrio Division of Neurology, San G. Moscati Hospital, Avellino, Italy A. Russo Á F. Conte Á A. Tessitore (&) Á G. Tedeschi Department of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic and Aging Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy e-mail: alessandro.tessitore@unina2.it A. Russo Á G. Tedeschi SUN-FISM Center, IDC ‘‘Hermitage Capodimonte’’, Naples, Italy G. Casucci S. Francesco Nursing Home, Telese Terme, Benevento, Italy 123 Neurol Sci (2014) 35 (Suppl 1):S203–S206 DOI 10.1007/s10072-014-1771-z