5 Predictors Of Chronic Migraine Revealed

Chronic migraine is caused by several health conditions including traumatic brain injury, inflammation and other issues pertaining to the blood vessels in the brain such as stroke.

The International classification of headache Disorders- ICHD-3 defines chronic migraine as having headaches for 15 days per month for a period of 3 months, and out of that 8 days per month are associated with migraine. Several factors including anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, pain disorders, female sex, medication overuse, caffeine consumption and income statuses have been linked to migraine chronification.

A new study published in the official journal of the International Headache Society has highlighted the predictors of chronic migraine. The study, conducted by Dr. Dawn Buse from the Department of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, has pointed out the following factors contributing to the evolution of episodic migraine to the chronic form:

1. Depression

Individuals suffering from depression are at a 58% higher risk of progressing to chronic migraines. This psychiatric comorbidity of chronic depression has been observed in several migraine-related studies.

2. High Frequency of Attacks

Individuals who suffer from 5 attacks on a monthly basis puts one at a 3.1 times increase in chronic migraine risk. And those having 10 attacks per month are prone to a 5.9-fold increase in the risk. "An average monthly headache day frequency of 10 days/month is usually considered high-frequency episodic migraine, which looks in many ways similar to people with chronic migraine and may be managed in similar ways such as considering preventive therapy and behavioral therapies to treat or prevent poor outcomes in functional and emotional disability," MedicalXpress quoted Dr. Buse.

3. Medication overuse

Overuse of certain medications increases the likelihood of developing chronic migraine by 8.8 times. This point stressed the need for further vigilance by clinicians on medication overuse and the failure of acute medications.

4. Allodynia

It is a sensory disorder where harmless stimuli result in pain. One good example is cutaneous allodynia, which occurs when one experiences pain on the scalp while combing because of scalp sensitivity. In this study, it was reported that allodynia increased the likelihood of progression to chronic migraine by 40%.

5. Financial status/Income

The study has reported that having a steady income of US$ 50,000 reduces one’s likelihood of chronic migraine progression by 35%. The authors opined that a higher income can provide them access to information and treatments that can help prevent migraine chronification.