Global to individual: key domains of burden in pediatric headache

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Pediatric headache not only impacts an individual's psychosocial, physical, and academic functioning, but also imposes a burden on their broader systems (e.g. healthcare, financial systems). Literature regarding the bidirectional nature of the socioecological burden of pediatric headache has yet to be synthesized. This is crucial, given the importance of identifying next steps for health-policy, advocacy, research, and intervention development for pediatric headache. RECENT FINDINGS: Globally, rates of pediatric headache have risen, with incidence and prevalence varying by geographical location and headache type. Healthcare system and family financial burden of headache suggests increases in healthcare utilization and costs, and parental loss of wages due to missed work. Psychosocial and academic impacts of headache on youth include poorer school attendance, higher rates of stress, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing disorders. SUMMARY: The burden of pediatric headache is clear across several domains of functioning and affects the broader systems supporting the impacted individual. Nuanced relationships between psychosocial functioning and pediatric headache have emerged, demonstrating the need for future research to consider specific factors (e.g. headache type, age, and gender) as moderators of disability-related outcomes and psychosocial functioning, and the clinical development of biopsychosocial interventions tailored to address domains of disability.