The comparison of personality types in patients with vascular headache and tension-type headache

ABSTRACT

Objective: This is a study to evaluate the personality types based on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) in patients with chronic vascular or tension-type headache. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 210 patients with tension-type and vascular headache in the Mashhad city, northeast of Iran. Patients were selected through convenience nonprobability method from December 2010 to January 2012. They were asked to fill demographic questionnaire and MBTI. Data were analyzed with SPSS using Mann-Whitney U, Chi-square and Fisher exact test. Results: The mean age of participants was 33.7 ± 8.2. Patients with vascular headache were mostly female, had higher levels of education, experienced more attacks per month and had shorter duration of headache until seeking treatment compared to the patients with tension-type headache. There was a significant difference in the distribution of personality types and frequency of each personality dimension between two groups. Patients with vascular headaches were significantly more introverted, sensing, thinking and judgmental, as compared to extraversion, intuitional, feeling, and perceiving among the tension-type headaches. Conclusion: Since there was a significant difference in the personality type of the different headache patients, further neuropsychological studies may throw light on the etiology of these chronic headaches.