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Fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, sciatic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and moderate depression may be more prevalent in working-age individuals with vs without migraine, according to a study published in Acta Neurologica Scandinavica.
The records of individuals from the Finnish Population Register who reported any of these conditions and migraine were assessed using questionnaires. The initial questionnaire was administered in 1998 (n=64,797), with follow-up questionnaires administered in 2003 and 2012.
Among the 11,596 participants who reported having migraine in all 3 questionnaires, 1505 individuals were affirmative on all inquiries on migraine and were considered to have migraine.
A total of 8092 individuals who responded negatively to all migraine-related questions and had not used triptans constituted the control group. Investigators conducted subanalyses in the migraine and control groups by age (64-68 years, n=488 and n=2602, respectively; 54-58 years, n=440 and n=2163, respectively; 44-48 years, n=301 and n=1680, respectively; and 34-38 years, n=276 and 1647, respectively).
A greater percentage of individuals with vs without migraine reported moderate depression (Beck Depression inventory score >18: 7.3% vs 3.4%, respectively; P <.001), fibromyalgia (6.1% vs 2.0%, respectively; P <.001), rheumatoid arthritis (4.5% vs 2.6%, respectively; P <.001), osteoarthritis (30.3% vs 19.7%, respectively; P <.001), and sciatic syndrome (32.0% vs 18.6%, respectively; P <.001).
Rates of fibromyalgia (7.7% vs 4.4%; P <.001), rheumatoid arthritis (6.5% vs 4.5%; P =.032), osteoarthritis (45.8% vs 35.3%; P <.001), and sciatic syndrome (38.3% vs 22.1%; P <.001) were higher in women with vs without migraine in the 2 oldest age groups, and men with vs without migraine in these age groups had higher rates of osteoarthritis (28.9% vs 21.8%, respectively; P =.030).
A greater number of old vs young Finnish patients were included in this study, which may preclude generalizability of the findings to other age groups.
The investigators suggest the need for greater assessment of comorbidities in patients with migraine when developing a therapeutic approach, considering “painful musculoskeletal comorbidities and depression associated [with] migraine as observed here increase the disease burden and are expected to decrease the quality of life and productivity in a working aged population.”
Reference
Sumelahti ML, Mattila K, Sumanen M. Painful musculosceletal disorders and depression among working aged migraineurs [published online March 14, 2018]. Acta Neurol Scand. doi: 10.1111/ane.12919.
