International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | February 2015 | Vol 3 | Issue 2 Page 456 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Solmaz V et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2015 Feb;3(2):456-460 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Research Article Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in cases with migraine and tension type headache Volkan Solmaz 1 *, Semiha Gülsüm Kurt 2 , Dürdane Aksoy 2 , Betul Cevık 2 , Enes Eser 3 INTRODUCTION Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) occurs when the median nerves in the carpal tunnel become squeezed or pressed. In addition, it is the most frequent entrapment neuropathy. The symptoms of CTS, especially aches and paresthesias, often increase at night, and only one symptom may be present at onset. While various factors are thought to contribute to its etiology, CTS is frequently idiopathic. 1 The prevalence of CTS was reported to be between 3.72% and 5.8% in a study carried out in Sweden and the United States of America. 2 However, there are no clear data regarding the prevalence of CTS in our country (Turkey). Tension Type Headache (TTH) and migraine headache are the most common primary headaches. It should be noted, that although migraine headache is typically ABSTRACT Background: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the most frequent entrapment neuropathy; also Tension Type Headache (TTH) and migraine headache are the most common forms of headaches. The aim of this study is to determine whether there is a relationship between carpal tunnel syndrome and migraine and/or TTH, and if so, to determine the factors causing this relationship. Methods: This study included 201 patients who were electro-physiologically diagnosed with idiopathic CTS and 100 controls. In addition to being examined for headaches, each patient’s Body Mass Index (BMI) was determined, and each was evaluated with Boston Questionnaire Form (BQF) and a Beck Depression Scale (BDS). Results: The CTS group had significantly more patients with TTH and migraine headache than did the control group. In addition, the CTS group had a significantly higher frequency of headaches, and significantly higher BDS and BMI than did the controls. There were no significant differences in headache type and frequency of headache between those with mild CTS and those with mild-serious CTS. In addition, the Boston scores of CTS patients with headache were higher than those CTS patients without headache. Further, the monthly income levels of patients with CTS were lower than those of the control group. Conclusion: We found that primary headache is more frequent in CTS patients than in controls. This may be due to somato-autonomic reflexes and other common risk factors that can be seen in both CTS patients and those with headache, including obesity, depression and low level of income. Keywords: Carpal tunnel syndrome, Primary headaches, Tension type headache, Migraine, Body mass index, Depression 1 Department of Neurology, Turhal State Hospital, Tokat, Turkey 2 Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey 3 Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey Received: 29 December 2014 Accepted: 15 January 2015 *Correspondence: Dr. Volkan Solmaz, E-mail: solmaz.volkan@yahoo.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: 10.5455/2320-6012.ijrms20150214