Aim: The headache episodes which starts at early ages and continues have been known how to cause negative effects on individuals education, occupation and family life. In this study, it was aimed to examine the clinical and socioeconomical characteristics of migraine and tension type headaches.

Material and Method: The study group consisted of 934 patients who were living in Bingöl but at different areas including city center, town and villages. The study population were asked for the condition of general health and socioeconomic status. Secondly, the patients having primary headache were asked for the characteristics of headache and the loss of productive power.

Results: The results were evaluated by statistical analysis. Of 511 patients who described headache, 61 had migraine type and 301 tension type headache. Others were unspecified. The patients with migraine type headache were those whose daily activities were considerably affected by the severity of headache. In addition, increased rate of episode was associated with the loss of productive power for both headaches. At episodic tension type headache, there was a reverse association between educational status and occupational loss.

Conclusion: In conclusion, unlike clinical studies, the patients with headache did not differ from normal population with respect to socioeconomic characteristics.