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Global prevalence and pathogenesis of headache in COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2020; Faculty of 1000; Volume: 9; Linguagem: Inglês

10.12688/f1000research.27334.1

2046-1402

Endang Mutiawati, Syahrul Syahrul, Marhami Fahriani, Jonny Karunia Fajar, Sukamto S. Mamada, Helnida Anggun Maliga, Nur Samsu, Muhammad Ilmawan, Yeni Purnamasari, Anisa Asmiragani, Ichsan Ichsan, Talha Bin Emran, Ali A. Rabaan, Sri Masyeni, Firzan Nainu, Harapan Harapan,

Migraine and Headache Studies

Background: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of headache in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to assess its association as a predictor for COVID-19. This study also aimed to discuss the possible pathogenesis of headache in COVID-19. Methods: Available articles from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched as of September 2 nd, 2020. Data on characteristics of the study, headache and COVID-19 were extracted following the PRISMA guidelines. Biases were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The cumulative prevalence of headache was calculated for the general population (i.e. adults and children). The pooled odd ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) was calculated using the Z test to assess the association between headache and the presence of COVID-19 cases. Results: We included 104,751 COVID-19 cases from 78 eligible studies to calculate the global prevalence of headache in COVID-19 and 17 studies were included to calculate the association of headache and COVID-19. The cumulative prevalence of headache in COVID-19 was 25.2% (26,464 out of 104,751 cases). Headache was found to be more prevalent, approximately by two-fold, in COVID-19 patients than in non-COVID-19 patients with symptoms of other respiratory viral infections, OR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.94, 2.5 with p=0.04. Conclusion: Headache is common among COVID-19 patients and seems to be more common in COVID-19 patients compared to those with the non-COVID-19 viral infection. No definitive mechanisms on how headache emerges in COVID-19 patients but several possible hypotheses have been proposed. However, extensive studies are warranted to elucidate the mechanisms. PROSPERO registration: CRD42020210332 (28/09/2020).