Frequency of Migraine Headaches in Patients With Fibromyalgia

Abstract

Objective.-The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of migraine headache in a large cohort of patients with fibromyalgia using a brief migraine headache-screening tool.Background.-Several studies report a high prevalence of fibromyalgia among patients with migraine headaches, but there is a dearth of research evaluating the frequency of migraine headaches in patients with fibromyalgia, despite clinical observations suggesting that migraine headaches are common in patients with fibromyalgia.Design and Methods.-This was a cross-sectional survey study. Patients (N = 3717) with a previous diagnosis of fibromyalgia who were members of the Mayo Clinic Fibromyalgia Registry were contacted by electronic survey and asked to complete a brief demographic and medical history questionnaire and the validated ID-Migraine screener. Results.-A total of 1730 patients (46.5%) completed the electronic survey. The majority of participants were white (97.2%), female (92.5%), with a mean age of 56.2 (±13.1) years. Of the respondents, 966 (55.8%) met criteria for migraine headaches. Hypertension (309 [32.3%] vs 294 [40.1%], P = .004), asthma (312 [32.5%] vs 189 [25.9%], P = .011), irritable bowel syndrome (520 [54.6%] vs 348 [47.6], P = .017), chronic fatigue syndrome (486 [50.7%] vs 271 [37.1], P < .0001), depression (634 [66.5%] vs 413 [56.7%], P = .0002), anxiety (415 [43.5%] vs 252 [34.7%], P = .0011), and post-traumatic stress disorder (172 [18.0%] vs 96 [13.2%], P = .006) were all significantly more common in those who met criteria for migraine headaches than those who did not.Conclusion.-The results of this study suggest that migraine headaches are common in patients with fibromyalgia. Clinicians who care for either population must be aware that these conditions commonly overlap and can significantly increase a patient's cumulative disease burden.

Fibromyalgia Among Patients With Chronic Migraine and Chronic Tension‐Type Headache: A Multicenter Prospective Cross‐Sectional Study

“…In this study, mean FIQ score among patients with CM combined with FM was 58.2 ± 10.6. Considering more than 50% of FM patients had migraine and the comorbid conditions were more common among FM patients combined with migraine than those without, proper diagnosis, and management of headache among FM patients would be needed …”

Humanistic and economic burden of fibromyalgia in Japan

“…It is commonly associated with a variety of comorbidities, including, but not limited to, migraines and sleep difficulties,2,3 and also with mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression 4. Recently, in Japan, the prevalence of fibromyalgia was estimated to be 2.1% among adults (aged ≥20 years), with the majority (60.5%) of them being female 5…”

Response to BotulinumtoxinA in a migraine cohort with multiple comorbidities and widespread pain

“…However, it has been shown that migraine, especially chronic migraine, is commonly comorbid with many other diseases 26. In a mail survey sent to over 46 000 Danish twins 62% of migraineurs had ‘neck trouble’ and 70% had ‘low back trouble.’27 In a cross-sectional survey looking at comorbid disease in fibromyalgia patients, 56% met criteria for migraine 26. To specifically evaluate differences between chronic migraine sufferers from episodic migraineurs, Buse analyzed data from 24 000 headache sufferers in the 2005 American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Survey.…”