David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Migraine prevalent and problematic in bipolar disorder
By Andrew Czyzewski, Medwire News
01 July 2010
Bipolar Disord 2010; 12:397?403
A quarter of patients with bipolar disorder experience migraines, and those who do have an increased rate of suicidal behavior, anxiety disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorder, study results show.
Furthermore, analysis of a separate cohort of migraine patients showed a prevalence of bipolar disorder of 6.35%, which compares with around 1.00% in the general population.
"While the association between psychiatric disorders and migraine may or may not be a causal one, a greater understanding of these specific relations may contribute to our understanding of the underlying etiologies of both conditions," Martin Alda (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) and colleagues comment in the journal Bipolar Disorders.
Emerging evidence from empirical and conceptual studies suggests an association between migraine and affective disorders.
For example, a genome-wide linkage study of comorbid bipolar disorder and migraine recently reported an overlapping susceptibility for both disorders.
Furthermore, alterations in sodium and calcium channels are thought to underlie the pathophysiology of both bipolar disorder and migraine.
In the current study the researchers recruited 204 participants with bipolar I disorder, 92 with bipolar II disorder, and 27 with bipolar disorder not otherwise specified or schizoaffective disorder. Migraine history was assessed by means of a structured questionnaire.
In all 24.5% of the sample had comorbid migraine, with bipolar II disorder patients showing a significantly higher prevalence, at 34.8%, than bipolar I disorder patients, at 19.1%.
Bipolar disorder patients with comorbid migraine had significantly higher rates of suicidal behavior, social phobia, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder than those without migraine.
For example, 40% of bipolar disorder patients with migraine reported a history of suicide attempts compared with just 27% in bipolar disorder patients without migraine.
In a secondary analysis, Alda and team also assessed 102 migraine patients from a specialty migraine clinic. They found that 73.5% had a lifetime psychiatric diagnosis of which 4.9% was bipolar I disorder and 7.8% was bipolar II disorder.
Discussing their findings, Alda et al say that bipolar disorder patients with comorbid migraine "may indeed have a different profile in terms of the clinical course of the disorder and treatment response."
Abstract
By Andrew Czyzewski, Medwire News
01 July 2010
Bipolar Disord 2010; 12:397?403
A quarter of patients with bipolar disorder experience migraines, and those who do have an increased rate of suicidal behavior, anxiety disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorder, study results show.
Furthermore, analysis of a separate cohort of migraine patients showed a prevalence of bipolar disorder of 6.35%, which compares with around 1.00% in the general population.
"While the association between psychiatric disorders and migraine may or may not be a causal one, a greater understanding of these specific relations may contribute to our understanding of the underlying etiologies of both conditions," Martin Alda (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) and colleagues comment in the journal Bipolar Disorders.
Emerging evidence from empirical and conceptual studies suggests an association between migraine and affective disorders.
For example, a genome-wide linkage study of comorbid bipolar disorder and migraine recently reported an overlapping susceptibility for both disorders.
Furthermore, alterations in sodium and calcium channels are thought to underlie the pathophysiology of both bipolar disorder and migraine.
In the current study the researchers recruited 204 participants with bipolar I disorder, 92 with bipolar II disorder, and 27 with bipolar disorder not otherwise specified or schizoaffective disorder. Migraine history was assessed by means of a structured questionnaire.
In all 24.5% of the sample had comorbid migraine, with bipolar II disorder patients showing a significantly higher prevalence, at 34.8%, than bipolar I disorder patients, at 19.1%.
Bipolar disorder patients with comorbid migraine had significantly higher rates of suicidal behavior, social phobia, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder than those without migraine.
For example, 40% of bipolar disorder patients with migraine reported a history of suicide attempts compared with just 27% in bipolar disorder patients without migraine.
In a secondary analysis, Alda and team also assessed 102 migraine patients from a specialty migraine clinic. They found that 73.5% had a lifetime psychiatric diagnosis of which 4.9% was bipolar I disorder and 7.8% was bipolar II disorder.
Discussing their findings, Alda et al say that bipolar disorder patients with comorbid migraine "may indeed have a different profile in terms of the clinical course of the disorder and treatment response."
Abstract
