Table 1.
Main characteristics of included studies.
| Author, country, (sample size); F-up; Mean age; Headache diagnosis; Mean years of pain | Intervention/interventions (sample size); duration | Comparator/s (sample size) |
|---|---|---|
| Basler et al.,23 Germany (n = 126); F-up: 6 months. Mean age: 40.0 years (SD = 11.4). Headache diagnosis: 26% migraine, 36% tension headache, 37% both. Mean years of pain: 14.2 (SD = 11.0). |
CBT (+ physical treatments such as pain medication, nerve blocks, acupuncture, massage and physical therapy) (n = 50); Treatment duration: 12 weeks (12 sessions, 5–8 patients per group) |
1. Waiting list control (+ physical treatments such as pain medication, nerve blocks, acupuncture, massage and physical therapy) (n = 38) |
| Blanchard et al.,16 USA (n = 77); F-up: 12 weeks. Mean age: 38.6 years (range = 21–67). Headache diagnosis: tension headache. Mean years of pain: 14.1 (SD = 10.6–14.1). |
CBT (cognitive therapy) + relaxation (progressive muscle relaxation) (n = 17); Treatment duration: 8 weeks (11 sessions, not reported but suggests individual sessions) |
1. Relaxation (progressive muscle relaxation) (n = 19) 2. Placebo (pseudo-medication) (n = 16) 3. Waiting list control (headache monitoring) (n = 15) |
| Blanchard et al.,20 USA (n = 148); F-up: 12 weeks. Mean age: 38.6 years (range = 21–61). Headache diagnosis: 64% migraine or mixed migraine; 36% tension headache. Mean years of pain: 15.6 (SD = 8.6–12.4). |
CBT (cognitive therapy) + biofeedback (thermal biofeedback) (n = 30); Treatment duration: 8 weeks (16 sessions, not reported but suggests individual sessions) |
1. Relaxation training + biofeedback (thermal biofeedback) (n = 32) 2. Placebo (pseudo-medication) (n = 24) 3. Waiting list control (headache monitoring) (n = 30) |
| Holroyd et al.,17 USA (n = 41); F-up: 12 weeks. Mean age: 32.3 years (range = 19–55). Headache diagnosis: recurrent tension headache. Mean years of pain: 10.7 (range = 1–28). |
CBT + relaxation (n = 19); Treatment duration: 8 weeks (3 sessions, individual) |
1. Antidepressant medication (amitriptyline) (n = 17) |
| Holroyd et al.,21,22 USA (n = 203); F-up:6 months. Mean age: 37 years (SD = 0.85). Headache diagnosis: chronic tension-type headache. Mean years of pain: 12.6 (SD = 0.79). |
CBT (stress management therapy) + placebo (n = 38); Treatment duration: 8 weeks (3 sessions, not reported but suggests individual sessions) |
1. CBT (stress management therapy) + antidepressant medicationa (n = 45) 2. Antidepressant medicationa (n = 48) 3. Placebo (n = 38) |
| Martin et al.,24 Australia (n = 64); F-up: 4 + 12 months. Mean age: 38.4 (SD: CBT 9.81, SM-CBT 8.41). Headache diagnosis: migraine CBT 50.0%/SM-CBT 37.9%; tension headache CBT 26.9%/ SM-CBT 41.4%; mixed CBT 23.1%/ SM-CBT 20.7%. Mean years of pain: 16.5 (SD: CBT 8.88, SM-CBT 11.71) |
Clinic-based CBT (n = 31); Treatment duration: 12 weeks (12 sessions, 4–6 patients per group) |
1. Self-managed CBT (n = 31) |
| Martin et al.,26 Australia (n = 64); F-up: 12 months. Mean age: 44.0 (SD = 9.6). Headache diagnosis: 59% migraine, 41% tension-type headache. Mean years of pain: 24.7 (SD = 11.7). |
CBT (n = 20); Treatment duration: 8 weeks (8 sessions, unclear if individual or group treatment) |
1. Biofeedback (temporal pulse amplitude biofeedback training. (n = 19) 2. Waiting list control (n = 12) |
| Mosley et al.,18 USA (n = 37); F-up: 12 weeks + 4 months. Mean age: 68 years (range = 60–78). Headache diagnosis: recurrent tension headache. Mean years of pain: 37 (range = 9–55). |
CBT + relaxation (n = 11); Treatment duration: 12 weeks (12 sessions, group treatment – number of patients per group not reported) |
1. Relaxation (n = 10) 2. Waiting list control (n = 9) |
| Richardson and McGrath,25 Canada (n = 51); F-up:6 months. Mean age: 35.6 (range = 23–48). Headache diagnosis: common migraine (not classic migraine). Mean years of pain: 16.7 (range = 2–40). |
Clinic-based CBT (n = 15) Treatment duration: 8 weeks (8 sessions, unclear if individual or group treatment) |
1. Self-managed CBT (n = 15) 2. Waiting list control (n = 17) |
| Tobin et al.,19 USA (n = 27); F-up: 3 months. Mean age: 28 (SD = 6.6). Headache diagnosis: recurrent tension headache. Mean years of pain: 8 (SD = 5.7). |
CBT + relaxation (n = 12); Treatment duration: 8 weeks (3 sessions, unclear if individual or group treatment) |
1. Relaxation (n = 12) |
CBT: cognitive behavioural therapy; SD: standard deviation; F-up: follow-up.
Some studies had more than one follow-up point. The results for the follow-up point with the most complete data are reported. For detailed data extraction forms, please contact the corresponding author.
a
Amitriptyline or nortriptyline.