Graif Y, et al. - Experts assessed the relationship between specialist-diagnosed asthma and migraine among adolescents. An awareness among clinicians regarding the potential risk posed by asthma and allergic rhinitis for migraine in adolescents should be reinforced. Migraine was highly suggested by a combined finding of these conditions and recurrent headache, justifying a different treatment approach from sinusitis.

Methods

• Authors retrospectively searched the electronic database of a recruitment center for all 17-year-old draftees during the years 1987-2010.
• Certified specialists made the diagnoses of asthma and migraine, and they compared the prevalence of migraine among draftees with and without asthma.
• They recorded the covariate data on socio-demographics and associated medical conditions.

Results

• Findings suggested that a total of 113,671 adolescents were available for analysis.
• As per data, among 4.0%, asthma was diagnosed and migraine among 1.9%.
• Results revealed that among adolescents with asthma, migraine was significantly more prevalent (174 of the 4,581 subjects [3.8%]) vs those without asthma (1,946 of the 109,090 [1.8%]) (OR=2.17 [95% CI 1.86-2.55; P < 0.001]).
• Among subjects with and without allergic rhinitis, rates of migraine were 6.3% and 1.7%, respectively (OR=4.04[95%CI 3.58-4.56; P < 0.001]).
• Multivariate analysis suggested a significant relationship between migraine and both asthma (OR 1.42 [95% CI 1.19-1.68]) and allergic rhinitis (OR 3.18 [95% CI 2.80-3.63]).
• Female gender, urban area of residence, recent immigration to Israel, having three or fewer siblings, and abnormal body mass index were the other factors significantly associated with migraine.