The rate of migraine headache among sample of Iraqi diabetic patients: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Migraine is characterized by recurrent attacks of headache and its pathophysiology is still enigmatic. A number of environmental factors has been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of migraine by some authors (3). Trials of linking metabolic derangements to the pathophysiology of headache episode in migraine patients have recently emerged in a number of literatures. Obesity and diabetes have been evaluated in a number of studies in relation to migraine.
 Aim of the study: To evaluate the rate of migraine headache among a sample of Iraqi diabetic patients.
 Patients and methods: Current cross sectional study included 200 patients already diagnosed as having type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus. Those patients were reviewed for having criteria suggesting migraine headache according to “International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD)”. Variables included in the present study are: age, gender, type of diabetes mellitus, duration of diabetes and the level of HbA1c%. The study was conducted at the neurology unit, Al-Dewaniyah teaching hospital, Al-dewaniyah province, Iraq. The study started on January 2017 and ended at June 2018.
 Results: Number of diabetic patients with migraine was 58 out of 200 accounting for a rate of 29%. Migraineurs were more likely to be female gender in comparison with diabetic non-migraineurs, male to female proportion of 21/37 versus 79/63, respectively; the difference was significant (P=0.013). Patients with type 1 diabetes were more liable to have migraine than patients with type 2 diabetes, 13 out of 29 (44.8%) versus 45 out of 171 (26.3%), respectively; the difference was significant (P=0.042). According to the type of treatment, those patients on insulin therapy were more liable to be migraineurs than those patients on oral hypoglycemic agents, 38 out of 100 (38%) versus 20 out of 100 (20%), respectively; the difference was highly significant (P=0.005). Patients with migraine had significantly longer duration of diabetes in comparison with those diabetics who are free of migraine, 7.18 ±4.43 years versus 4.18 ±4.58 years, respectively, (P<0.001).
 Conclusion: the present study showed that the prevalence of migraine headache in diabetic patients is higher than in the general population and its rate is significantly associated with the duration of diabetes, type 1 diabetes, insulin therapy and female gender.