Pediatric headache and migraine are associated with a variety of conditions including respiratory, gastrointestinal, neurologic, and mood disorders, according to findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
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In a study of 9,329 pediatric patients from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, at the University of Pennsylvania, children with any headache type were more likely to have cardiovascular (odds ratio, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.7) and gastrointestinal (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.4) problems than did those without headache. In addition, they were more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.4), wrote Tarannum M. Lateef, MD, MPH, of the Center for Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, and her coauthors.
Study participants were aged 8-21 years and were enrolled in the cohort from November 2009 to November 2011. Physical conditions were identified using EMRs and interviews and were later grouped together by general category.
Patients were asked about lifetime headache and migraine symptoms including sensitivity to light and noise, gastrointestinal symptoms, unilateral pain, throbbing and pulsation, and interference at school or work. Migraine was defined as headache accompanied by any three of these symptoms. Mental disorders were identified using an abbreviated version of the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, reported Dr. Lateef and her associates.
Lifetime prevalence of any headache was 45.5%, and 22.6% for migraine. Migraine was more common in female patients (25.5%) than in male patients (19.4%).
Compared with nonmigraine headache patients, those with migraine more frequently had neurologic/central nervous system disorders (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.4-2.0), developmental disorders (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6), respiratory problems (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6), anxiety (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.3-2), mood disorders (OR, 2; 95% CI, 1.6-2.3), and behavioral disorders (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6).
The results suggest that “headache, particularly migraine, is associated with respiratory and other neurologic and developmental disorders, as well as with anxiety and mood disorders,” the authors wrote.
“Comorbidity may be an important index of heterogeneity … that can guide clinical management, genetic investigation, and future research on shared pathophysiology” with other disorders, they concluded.
No disclosures were reported.
SOURCE: Lateef T et al. J Pediatr. 2018 Oct 29. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.09.033.