title: Physical comorbidity of migraine and other headaches in US adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the pattern and extent to which other physical conditions are comorbid with migraine and other headaches in youth in a representative sample of the US population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement is a face-to-face survey of adolescents aged 13-18 years in the continental US. Sufficient information to assess the International Headache Society's criteria for migraine with and without aura over the past 12 months was available in the diagnostic module. A caretaker/parental self-administered report was used to assess a broad range of other physical conditions. The sample for these analyses was 6843 adolescents with systematic caretaker/parent reports.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adolescents with any headaches reported higher rates of other neurologic conditions, including epilepsy (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.04-3.94), persistent nightmares (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.34-3.87), and motion sickness (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.07-2.4), as well as abdominal complaints (OR, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.59-3.51). Asthma (OR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.26-3.92) and seasonal allergies (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.12-2.48) were more common in adolescents with migraines than in adolescents with nonspecific headaches.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adolescent migraine is associated with inflammatory conditions such as asthma and seasonal allergies, as well as with epilepsy, persistent nightmares, and motion sickness. Our findings suggest that comorbid medical conditions should be evaluated comprehensively in determining treatment options in youth with headache. Such comorbidity also could be an important source of the clinical and etiologic heterogeneity in migraine.
authors.affiliation: Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. TLateef@cnmc.org
authors.forename: Tarannum M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Lateef
authors.forename: Lihong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Karin B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Erin F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Kathleen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Merikangas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology