IDA patients have a high frequency of migraine headache. The presence of anxiety and depression have great influence on the presence of migraine in IDA patients.

BackgroundMigraine is a significant health problem, especially for the young people, due to its frequency and accompanying morbidity, causing disability and loss of performance. In this study, our aim was to determine the prevalence of migraine headaches among university students in Edirne, a Turkish city.MethodsIn this cross-sectional and descriptive study, study population was composed of students registered to Trakya University in the academic year of 2008-2009. Out of these, 3694 of them accepted to participate. Participants who had two or more headaches in the last 3 months formed the headache group. Afterwards, two preliminary questions were applied to the headache group and participants with at least one affirmative response were asked to perform the validated ID-Migraine™ test.ResultsThe mean age of 3694 students participated in the study was 19.23 ± 1.84 (17-39 years), with adolescents:adult ratio being 2.5:1. 1613 students (43.7%) did have at least two headaches in the last three months. Migraine-type headache was detected in 266 subjects (7.2%) based on the ID-Migraine™ test. Of the migraine group, 72 were male (27.1%) and 194 were female (72.9%). There was no significant difference in migraine prevalence between adolescent and adult age groups.ConclusionsWith a prevalence similar to adults, primary care physicians should be aware of the probability of migraine headaches in university students in order to maintain a successful school performance.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESUntil now, very few studies evaluated the association between gastrointestinal and psychiatric symptoms in iron deficiency anemia (IDA). The study investigated the frequency of functional dyspepsia (FD) in IDA patients and determined its association with depression and somatization.DESIGN AND SETTINGSThe study was conducted at the Hematology Department of Trakya University Medical Faculty, which is a tertiary referral center in northwestern Turkey. It was a case-control study.MATERIALS AND METHODSA total of 125 consecutive IDA patients and 57 healthy control subjects were included. Patients and controls were questioned about the severity of their gastrointestinal system (GIS)-related symptoms and the presence of constipation and associated symptoms using a visual analog scale. In addition, IDA patients were administered a validated depression scale (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI) and somatization symptoms checklist.RESULTSIDA patients had more frequent self-reported constipation compared with controls (56% vs 22.8%, P<.001). The mean scores of bloating, dyspepsia, and constipation-related quality of life (QoL) disturbance were significantly higher in the IDA group than in the control group (all P values ≤.01). A total of 71 IDA patients were depressed according to the BDI. Depressed IDA patients had higher mean reflux, bloating, halitosis, and dyspepsia-related QoL disturbance scores compared with nondepressed patients (all P values ≤.01). Their frequency of self-reported constipation and mean constipation-related QoL disturbance score (P values, .002 and <.001) were also higher. Depressed IDA patients had significantly higher somatization scores compared with others (P=.001).CONCLUSIONAn increased frequency of dyspepsia symptoms and constipation-related QoL disturbance were observed in IDA patients. The findings of this study suggested that in IDA patients without red flags in favor of malignancy, physicians should try to uncover any psychiatric factors before undertaking extensive GIS investigation.