Prevalence of obesity in patients suffering from migraine

Background: Migraine is one of the most common primary headaches, accounting for significant morbidity in patients suffering from it. An association between obesity and migraine has been documented in the past, despite some studies pointing to the contrary. Author’s purpose is to calculate the prevalence of obesity in migraine patients in order to contribute to the existing concepts. A positive correlation could lead to the employment of weight loss interventions in the management of obese patients with migraine.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 400 patients, recently diagnosed with migraine, attending the Neurology Outpatient Department at the Dr. Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi were enrolled after taking informed consent.  Migraine was diagnosed using International Classification of Headache Disorders III (ICHD III) criteria. Height (meters) and weight (kilograms) were measured and body mass index calculated. This data was kept confidential. The results were tabulated and analyzed using SPSS version 19.  Continuous quantitative data were analyzed using chi square test. A p Value of less than or equal to 0.05 was considered significant.Results: The mean age of enrolled participants was 30.69±6.96 years, 204(51%) were >30 years of age, 159(39.8%) were male and 241(60.3%) were female, mean height was 1.55±0.1 meters, mean weight was 56.26±12.98 kg, and mean duration of migraine was 5.04±2.02 weeks. The prevalence of obesity in patients with migraine was 108 (27%).Conclusions: It was concluded that the prevalence of obesity in patients with migraine was 27%.

Characteristics of Elderly-Onset (≥65 years) Headache Diagnosed Using the International Classification of Headache Disorders, Third Edition Beta Version

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: New-onset headache in elderly patients is generally suggestive of a high probability of secondary headache, and the subtypes of primary headache diagnoses are still unclear in the elderly. This study investigated the characteristics of headache with an older age at onset (≥65 years) and compared the characteristics between younger and older age groups. METHODS: We prospectively collected demographic and clinical data of 1,627 patients who first visited 11 tertiary hospitals in Korea due to headache between August 2014 and February 2015. Headache subtype was categorized according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, Third Edition Beta Version. RESULTS: In total, 152 patients (9.3%, 106 women and 46 men) experienced headache that began from 65 years of age [elderly-onset group (EOG)], while the remaining 1,475 patients who first experienced headache before the age of 65 years were classified as the younger-age-at-onset group (YOG). Among the primary headache types, tension-type headache (55.6% vs. 28.8%) and other primary headache disorders (OPH, 31.0% vs. 17.3%) were more common in the EOG than in the YOG, while migraine was less frequent (13.5% vs. 52.2%) (p=0.001) in the EOG. Among OPH, primary stabbing headache (87.2%) was more frequent in the EOG than in the YOG (p=0.032). The pain was significantly less severe (p=0.026) and the frequency of medication overuse headache was higher in EOG than in YOG (23.5% vs. 7.6%, p=0.040). CONCLUSIONS: Tension-type headache and OPH headaches, primarily stabbing headache, were more common in EOG patients than in YOG patients. The pain intensity, distribution of headache diagnoses, and frequency of medication overuse differed according to the age at headache onset.

Rhinogenic Headache: The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd Edition / 대한이비인후과학회지

Rhinogenic headache may be defined as a headache directly caused by pathology within the nose or paranasal sinuses. Rhinogenic headache is a controversial, but distinct type of headache that has received an increased amount of attention in the literature over the past twenty years. The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition has been released by the 'International Headache Society' in May 2013. As this version is based on a large body of research on headache, in contrast to previous editions that were mostly based on opinion of experts, it is being considered as a major step forward in the diagnosis and management of headache. The International Headache Society presented the diagnostic criteria of rhinogenic headache divided into three types: Headache Attributed to Acute Rhinosinusitis, Headache Attributed to Chronic or Recurring Rhinosinusitis, Headache Attributed to Disorder of the Nasal Mucosa, Turbinates or Septum. We herein present the salient features of the new classification, which are likely to be of interest to the rhinologist. In addition, I review the evidence that intranasal mucosal contact points cause facial pain or headache and present the important points to consider in diagnosis and treatment of mucosal contact point headache.