Anxiety sensitivity, fear, and avoidance behavior in headache pain.

Recent research has implicated anxiety sensitivity (AS), the fear of anxiety-related sensations, as a mitigating factor involved in fear and avoidance in patients with chronic back pain [Understanding and treating fear of pain (2004) 3]. Given reported similarities between individuals experiencing chronic pain and those experiencing recurrent headaches, it is theoretically plausible that AS plays a role in influencing fear of pain and avoidance behavior in people with recurrent headache. This has not been studied to date. In the current study we used structural equation modeling to examine the role of AS in fear and avoidance behavior of patients experiencing recurrent headaches. Treatment seeking patients with recurrent headaches completed measures of AS, headache pain severity, pain-related fear, and pain-related escape and avoidance behavior. Structural equation modeling supported the prediction of a direct significant loading of AS on fear of pain. Headache severity also had a direct loading on fear of pain. Results also revealed that AS and headache severity had indirect relationships to pain-related escape and avoidance via their direct loadings on fear of pain. Headache severity also had a small direct loading on escape and avoidance behavior. These results provide compelling evidence that AS may play an important role in pain-related fear and escape and avoidance behavior in patients with recurrent headaches.