Headache is one of the most frequent complaints of patients who applied to the neurological clinics. It causes social problems because of the dost of work power and the cost of the investigation and treatment. Hence, protective health care and effective therapy in short time is being more important. Therefore, it is essential to know the profile of headache of community. In this study, we aimed to search of the headache profile in Manisa and surroundings.

300 out-patients who applied to neurology clinic between January, 1-July 30, 1999 were evaluated by a special questionary form prospectively. The headache diagnosis was estimated according to the diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society and chronic daily headache criteria and the sociodemographic features of patients and the clinical features of headache were evaluated.

42 % of the patients were diagnosed as migrain, 36.3 % were as tension type headache and 21.7 % were as other type of headaches. It was seen that 35.3 % of the total patients consisted of chronic daily headache group. 85 % of the cases were women and 15 % were men. The average age was 39.4±13.8 and education duration was 7.4±4.1 years. These results were similar in all the diagnostic group except cluster headache. It was observed that the women to men ratio was equal, the average age was younger and the education level was higher in cluster headache group. The onset age of headache was found lowest in the cluster headache group. Household income was medium in 79.6 % of patients, was high in 12 % and was low in 8.4 % of the patients. Most of the patients were housewife and that the period of suffering from headache was longest in the mixed type headache group. It was observed that the frequency of headache was highest in the chronic tension headache group, the headache duration was highest in the chronic headache and mixed type headache groups and the headache strenght was in the mixed type headache group. While familial aggregation was seen the most common in migraine with aura, it was also high in tension type headache. Chronic stress history was seen in all types of groups except cluster headaches, being most frequent in chronich tension type headache. The neurological evaluation was normal 29 % 6 % of patients. 1 of the 2 patients who had papilledema found to have occupying lesion and the other was diagnosed as idiopathic intracranial hypertension.