Comorbidity of migraine and epilepsy in a Norwegian community.
OBJECTIVE
Studies on the comorbidity of migraine and epilepsy have shown conflicting results. We wanted to explore the epidemiological association between migraine and seizure disorders in a population-based material where case ascertainment was enhanced by individual specialist assessments.


METHODS
Information concerning migraine and seizure disorders was collected from 1793 participants in an interview-based survey in a circumscribed community. Mixed headache, with features both of migraine without aura and tension-type headache, was excluded from further analyses because of its ambiguous character (n = 137). Thus, data from 1656 participants were included in the study.


RESULTS
The number of subjects with epilepsy was small, and a statistically significant association between migraine and the diagnosis of epilepsy was not found. There was a tendency to more active epilepsy in subjects with migraine (1.0%, 5/524), particularly for migraine with aura (1.8%, 3/168), compared with subjects without migraine (0.5%, 6/1132). Migraine was present in five of 11 subjects with active epilepsy (45%) and in four of 28 (14%) with epilepsy in remission (P = 0.09).


CONCLUSIONS
An overall association between migraine and seizure disorders could not be demonstrated, but there was a tendency to more migraine in individuals with active epilepsy.
Brodtkorb
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E
Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. eylert.brodtkorb@ntnu.no
Bakken
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IJ
Sjaastad
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D015984:Causality; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D018401:Sample Size; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult